What is the cheapest way to file US taxes from abroad?

A US citizen living abroad files two separate things each year. The first is the federal return, usually claiming either the foreign earned income exclusion, which takes foreign wages up to a limit out of US tax, or the foreign tax credit, which offsets tax already paid abroad. The exclusion is capped at $130,000 a person for 2025 returns and $132,900 for 2026.

The second is the FBAR, the report of foreign bank and financial accounts. It is owed when your foreign accounts together were worth more than $10,000 at any point in the year, and it does not go with the tax return: it is filed on its own through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, which is free and needs no account for an individual. That is why prices differ in how they treat it — some include it, some charge for it, and one leaves it to you.

The cheapest options are software you complete yourself: Expatfile from $119 for the return. A return prepared by a professional starts at $358 with the FBAR at H&R Block; the dearest here, Bright!Tax, starts at $800.

Software suits the standard case — salary abroad, the exclusion or the credit, a few foreign accounts. The gap in price buys a professional preparing the return for you, which is worth more once there is self-employment, rental income, investments beyond each package's limits, or a foreign company. Those are priced as add-ons that vary too much to compare, so the table does not.

With many foreign accounts, read the FBAR column closely. 1040 Abroad includes it for any number of accounts. Bright!Tax includes it for any number of accounts. Greenback's $125 covers up to 5 accounts, with more accounts charged on top.

The federal return is due on 15 April. A citizen living abroad gets an automatic two-month extension to 15 June by attaching a statement to the return saying why they qualify — but interest runs on any unpaid tax from 15 April regardless.

The FBAR is also due on 15 April, with an automatic extension to 15 October that needs no request.