Streamlined filing cost calculator
What makes up a real catch-up cost: the preparer fee for your complexity, the offshore penalty the route carries, and the back tax, which is a return calculation rather than something a form can settle. Every figure is sourced; estimates are labeled.
The three catch-up routes, side by side
Which route your facts point to is decided by three things, and the first is a gate rather than a preference: both streamlined tracks require that the noncompliance was non-willful, certified under penalties of perjury. That covers whatever went wrong in your case, whether returns were never filed or were filed without reporting foreign income and accounts. If it was not, neither track below is open to you and the conversation is a different one. Given non-willful conduct, the route then turns on whether you were abroad long enough and whether you already filed those years' returns. The offshore penalty is the difference that matters most in dollars.
| Route | Who it is for | Offshore penalty | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFOP Streamlined Foreign Offshore | Citizens and green-card holders: abroad 330+ full days in one of the last 3 years, and no US abode. Others: failed the substantial presence test in such a year. Joint returns: both spouses | 0% | 3 years of returns, 6 years of FBARs |
| SDOP Streamlined Domestic Offshore | You do not meet the SFOP non-residency test, which includes some filers living abroad, and you already filed those years' returns | 5% | 3 amended returns, 6 years of FBARs |
| FBAR only Late FBAR with a reasonable-cause statement | Returns were filed and income was reported; only the FBARs were missed | No offshore penalty, but FBAR penalties are not waived | The delinquent reports you actually missed, and no returns |
The 5% SDOP penalty applies to the highest year-end aggregate balance of the accounts covered, not to the tax owed. That basis is specific to SDOP: on the FBAR-only route the non-willful exposure is capped per annual report, and the willful percentage runs on the balance in the particular account involved. SFOP requires both tests: 330 full days outside the US in one of the covered years and no US abode. SDOP requires that the original returns were already filed. The Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures were withdrawn on 1 July 2026, so the FBAR-only route now runs through the BSA E-Filing System with a reasonable-cause statement. The published procedure is gone; the statutory exception at 31 U.S.C. 5321(a)(5)(B)(ii) is not, and it bars a penalty where the violation was due to reasonable cause and the balance was properly reported. Answer the questions below for your own facts.
The route to ask about
1. Preparer fee
2. Back tax, which this page does not estimate
3. Offshore penalty
These are planning estimates from published rates and the current fact base, not a quote. High earners may additionally owe the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax and the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, which this planning estimate deliberately leaves out. The do-nothing alternative is statutory FBAR exposure; see the FBAR penalty calculator for that side of the comparison.
Full pricing detail: the component-by-component breakdown.
Where these numbers come from
- Base package $2,000 to $2,500: the market band for a complete non-willful package: three years of returns, six years of FBARs, and the Form 14653 certification under SFOP, or Form 14654 under SDOP. Published starting prices run from $699 (DIY software) through $1,195 to $1,860 (preparer and CPA firms) to about $2,500 full service; the full comparison table with providers named is on the pricing page.
- Add-on rates: from the only detailed schedule a competitor publishes (CPAs for Expats fee page): Form 5471 at $500, state return at $125. PFIC Form 8621 work is typically priced per fund and varies too widely across firms to estimate responsibly; treat it as the largest open variable in any quote.
- Self-employment tax 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings: IRC sections 1401 to 1402: 12.4% Social Security up to the $176,100 wage base plus 2.9% Medicare with no cap. It applies where no US totalization agreement exists, regardless of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
- 0% vs 5% offshore penalty: SFOP (non-residents) versus SDOP (US residents, 5% of the highest year-end value of noncompliant foreign financial assets), per the IRS Streamlined procedures.
Educational estimate, not legal or tax advice, and not a quote. Non-willful conduct is an eligibility requirement for both Streamlined routes, and that judgment is exactly what the sworn certification is about.
Common questions
Why do quotes for the same Streamlined package vary so much?
Because the quoted base and the final bill are different numbers. A complete package covers three years of returns and six years of FBARs plus the non-willful certification (Form 14653 under SFOP, Form 14654 under SDOP; which one you use follows from the non-residency test, not simply from where you live now). What moves the price is what sits on top: a foreign corporation adds Form 5471, foreign mutual funds add a PFIC Form 8621 per fund, rental property adds Schedule E work, and some firms bill each separately. Published starting prices across the market run from about $1,195 at preparer firms to $2,500 for full service; this calculator's fee estimate uses the $2,000 to $2,500 full-service band.
Will I actually owe back taxes, or just the preparation fee?
Two mechanisms reduce it. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion covers up to $130,000 of 2025 earned income for those who qualify, and the Foreign Tax Credit offsets US tax with qualifying foreign income taxes paid or accrued, limited under section 904 to the portion of US tax attributable to foreign-source taxable income, generally computed separately by income category, with excess credits generally carried back one year and forward ten. Whether either applies, and how much is left, is a year-by-year return calculation. The common exception is self-employment: without a totalization agreement between the US and your country, net self-employment earnings owe the 15.3% US self-employment tax on 92.35% of net profit (the 12.4% Social Security portion stops at the $176,100 wage base; the 2.9% Medicare portion has no cap), and neither the exclusion nor foreign tax credits reduce it.
What is the difference between the 0% and 5% offshore penalty?
The program's non-residency test decides it, which is not the same question as where you live now. The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP), for non-willful filers who meet that test, carry a 0% offshore penalty. The Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP), for non-willful filers who do not meet it, carry a 5% penalty on the highest year-end value of the noncompliant foreign financial assets, including disclosed accounts whose income went unreported. Meeting the non-residency test is frequently the difference between paying nothing and paying five figures, which is why it is worth checking properly rather than assuming.
Are the FBARs part of the tax return?
No. The six years of FBARs (FinCEN Form 114) are filed separately with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing system, not with the IRS package. A complete engagement handles both tracks; when comparing quotes, confirm the FBARs are included and not metered per account.
How do I know whether I need SFOP or SDOP?
Two gates decide it. The Foreign Offshore track (SFOP) requires the program's applicable non-residency test, and there are two. For a US citizen or lawful permanent resident: in at least one of the 3 covered years, 330 or more full days physically outside the US and no US abode in that year (both are required). For someone who is neither: failing the substantial presence test in such a year. On a joint return both spouses must meet their applicable test. The Domestic Offshore track (SDOP) is for non-willful filers who do not meet that test, and it has its own entry requirement: original returns must already have been filed for the covered years, because SDOP works through amended returns. If you never filed and do not meet the non-residency test, neither streamlined track cleanly fits, and route choice becomes judgment work.
What if I am not sure my conduct counts as non-willful?
Both streamlined tracks require a signed certification that the failure was non-willful: conduct due to negligence, inadvertence, or mistake, or from a good-faith misunderstanding of the law. Deliberately keeping income or accounts off a return is the opposite of that. The certification is signed under penalties of perjury, so if you are unsure which side your facts fall on, resolve that question with a professional before filing anything.