Pay the least tax possible
Simple and direct: we look for every legal deduction and credit you qualify for, so your tax bill is as low as it can be — or your refund is as big as it can be.
And yes — that includes a tax professional.
Secure document handling · Located in Kansas
Individual & Self-Employed Returns
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About TreadTax
Four things we stand on.
TreadTax is operated by Plett Financial LLC in Kansas. This is how we work — scroll through our cornerstones.
Questions before you start? Call (316) 212-1771 or email [email protected].
Your Data, Your Privacy
Tax returns involve sensitive personal and financial information, and we take that seriously. Here’s how your information is handled when you work with us — and if you have a question about any of it, call (316) 212-1771 and ask.
Encrypted by default
Your connection to this site and any documents you send us are encrypted in transit.
Limited access
Client information is only accessible to the people directly working on your return.
Written security plan
TreadTax maintains a written information security plan (WISP) consistent with IRS and FTC Safeguards Rule guidance.
Reviewed by a professional
Your private information is reviewed and handled by a certified tax professional.
Ready to get started?
Have a question, or ready to begin? Reach out and we'll take it from there.
For Non-Resident Filers
Filing U.S. taxes from outside the system? We speak fluent non-resident.
Form 1040-NR, ITINs, and tax treaties — explained in plain language, prepared remotely, and reviewed by a tax professional before anything is filed.
Is this you?
If any of these sound familiar, you may need to file as a non-resident.
International students & scholars
F-1, J-1, and similar visa holders with U.S.-source income or scholarship funds who may need to file Form 1040-NR.
First-year work visa holders
H-1B, O-1, and similar visa holders navigating the substantial presence test and first-year residency choices.
Foreign nationals with U.S. income
Rental property, U.S. investments, or U.S.-source business income while living abroad.
Recent departures from the U.S.
Filed as a resident before, but left the U.S. and now need a final-year or dual-status return.
How non-resident filing works
You don’t need to be in the U.S. to get this done. The whole process is handled remotely.
1
Tell us your status
Your visa type, when you arrived or left, and what U.S. income you had. That determines whether you file as a resident, a non-resident, or dual-status.
2
Send your documents
Passport and visa copies, your I-20, DS-2019, or similar status documents, and income forms like a W-2 or 1042-S — whatever you’ve been given.
3
We prepare and file
We prepare your Form 1040-NR (plus Form 8843 if that’s all you need), apply any treaty position that fits, and a tax professional reviews it before it’s submitted.
Common questions
Do I need an ITIN or an SSN?
If you have an SSN, you generally file with it. If you need to file a U.S. return but aren’t eligible for an SSN, you may need to apply for an ITIN with your return.
Does a tax treaty apply to me?
Many countries have tax treaties with the U.S. that can reduce or exempt certain income. Whether one applies depends on your country, visa, and income type — ask and we’ll help you check.
Resident or non-resident for tax purposes?
For tax purposes, residency is usually based on the substantial presence test — a count of your days in the U.S. over a three-year period — with a first-year choice available in some cases.
I had no U.S. income. Do I still file anything?
Often, yes. Many F and J visa holders with no U.S. income still need to send Form 8843 each year. If you had U.S. income, you’d generally file Form 1040-NR as well.
What should I send to get started?
Your passport and visa, your I-20, DS-2019, or similar status documents, and any income forms you received — a W-2, a 1042-S, or scholarship letters. Not sure what you have? Send what you’ve got and we’ll sort it out with you.
Ready to get started?
Have a question, or ready to begin? Reach out and we'll take it from there.
Bookkeeping
Clean books, without the shoebox.
Monthly or quarterly bookkeeping for small businesses and the self-employed — income and expenses categorized, accounts reconciled, and records kept tidy so tax time isn’t a scramble.
What’s covered
The regular work that keeps your records useful all year — not just at filing time.
Income & expense categorization
Deposits, card charges, and cash expenses sorted into clear, consistent categories, so every dollar has a place and nothing gets counted twice.
Account reconciliation
Your bank and credit card accounts matched against your records each period, so the balance in your books is a number you can trust.
Plain-language snapshots
A simple profit-and-loss view each period: what came in, what went out, and what’s left — without accounting jargon.
Tax-time ready records
Books are kept with filing in mind, so your return starts from clean totals instead of a year of receipts to untangle.
Who this is for
Sole proprietors & the self-employed
Business and personal money running through the same accounts, and no time to sort it out between jobs.
Small teams
A few employees or contractors, regular expenses, and a need to know where the money actually goes each month.
Anyone behind on their books
A few months (or more) of uncategorized statements. Get in touch and we’ll look at what it takes to get you current.
How it works
1
Share your statements
Send your bank and credit card statements (or connect us to them) and tell us how your business runs.
2
We categorize & reconcile
We sort every transaction, match your accounts, and flag anything that doesn’t look right for you to confirm.
3
You review the snapshot
You get a plain summary of the period and books that stay current — ready whenever you or your tax return need them.
Common questions
Monthly or quarterly — which do I need?
It depends on your transaction volume and how current you need your numbers. Busy accounts usually fit monthly; quieter ones often fit quarterly.
What do you need from me?
Your statements and a short list of what your regular expenses are. After setup, most of the work is on our side.
Can you clean up past months?
Generally, yes — catch-up work starts with looking at how many months need attention. Get in touch and we’ll talk through it.
Ready to get your books in order?
Call (316) 212-1771, email [email protected], or send a message and we’ll take it from there.
Business Taxes
S corp taxes for owner-operators.
Form 1120-S preparation built for small corporations where the owner does most of the work — the corporate return, owner K-1s, and the deadlines that come with them.
What’s covered
An S corp files its own return before the owners file theirs. Here’s how the pieces fit together.
Form 1120-S preparation
Your corporation’s federal return, prepared from your books — income, expenses, and the corporation’s balance sheet where required.
Schedule K-1s for owners
Each owner’s share of income and deductions on a K-1, ready to carry onto their personal return.
Owner pay, handled plainly
Owner-employees generally take a salary through payroll, separate from distributions. We’ll help you keep those buckets straight in your records.
Elections & deadlines tracked
The S election (Form 2553), estimated payments, and filing deadlines each have dates attached. We’ll help you keep them on the calendar.
Who this is for
Single-owner S corps
You’re the business. We prepare the corporate return and the K-1 your personal return depends on.
Small multi-owner corporations
A few owners who each need a K-1 on time so nobody’s personal filing is held up.
Considering an S election?
Thinking about electing S status for your LLC or corporation? Start with a conversation about what changes — payroll, a separate return, and new deadlines.
How it works
1
Send your books & last return
Your bookkeeping records, payroll summaries, and last year’s corporate return if you have one.
2
We prepare the return & K-1s
We prepare Form 1120-S and each owner’s K-1, and confirm the details with you before anything is filed.
3
Personal returns follow
With K-1s in hand, each owner’s personal return can be finished — we can prepare those too.
Common questions
When is the S corp return due?
For calendar-year corporations, Form 1120-S is generally due March 15 — a month before personal returns. Extensions are available, but the K-1s your personal return needs come from this filing, so starting early helps.
Do I have to run payroll for myself?
Generally, yes. Owner-employees who work in the business are expected to take a reasonable salary through payroll; remaining profit can be treated differently. We’ll talk through how that applies to you.
My books aren’t clean. Can I still file?
The return is only as good as the records behind it. If your books need catching up first, our bookkeeping can get them there — get in touch and we’ll look at where things stand.
Ready to get started?
Call (316) 212-1771, email [email protected], or send a message and we’ll take it from there.
Tax Planning
Planning before December beats scrambling in April.
Tax preparation records what already happened. Planning looks ahead — a year-round check on withholding, estimates, and the decisions that can still change next spring’s outcome.
What we look at
A planning conversation is a review of the levers you can still pull before the year closes.
Withholding & estimated payments
If last April came with a surprise balance due (or a much bigger refund than expected), your withholding or quarterly estimates may need adjusting.
Retirement & savings moves
Contributions to retirement accounts can affect your taxable income. We’ll talk through the account types and deadlines that may fit your situation.
Business decisions before year-end
Equipment purchases, hiring, and when income lands can all change the picture. Talking before December keeps those options open; after, most are closed.
Life changes
A new job, marriage, a child, a move, or starting a business — each one changes your filing. A short check-in keeps April from being the first time you find out how.
Who this is for
The self-employed
Variable income and quarterly estimates are easy to drift away from what you’ll actually owe.
New business owners
Your first year or two sets the pattern — entity choice, owner pay, and record-keeping are easier to set up right than to unwind.
Anyone surprised last April
An unexpected bill or a giant refund is information. Planning turns it into a better setup for this year.
How it works
1
Tell us what changed
Income, job, business, family — and what you’re thinking about doing before year-end.
2
We map your options
We talk through what can still be adjusted — withholding, estimates, contributions, timing — and the deadlines attached to each.
3
Check back before year-end
A short follow-up before December confirms the moves got made while they still count.
Common questions
How is planning different from preparation?
Preparation files what already happened. Planning happens while the year is still open, when withholding, estimates, and timing can still be changed.
When should I start?
The earlier the better, and almost always before year-end — many moves stop being available once December 31 passes. Mid-year and fall are practical times to check in.
I only have W-2 income. Is this for me?
It can be. A withholding check alone can fix the owe-too-much / refund-too-much cycle, and life changes often matter more than income type.
Ready to plan ahead?
Call (316) 212-1771, email [email protected], or send a message and we’ll take it from there.
Payroll Tax
Payroll taxes, handled on schedule.
Withholding, deposits, and payroll filings for small teams — the unglamorous deadlines that get expensive when they’re missed, taken care of each pay period and each quarter.
What’s covered
Payroll tax is mostly a calendar. Here’s the calendar we keep for you.
Withholding & deposits
Federal income tax, Social Security, and Medicare withheld from each paycheck and deposited on the schedule your payroll size requires.
Quarterly filings
Form 941 each quarter (Form 944 for the smallest employers where it applies), plus state withholding filings where required.
Year-end forms
W-2s for employees and 1099s for contractors who need them, prepared from the year’s payroll records so January isn’t a scramble.
Changes as they happen
New hires, pay changes, and people leaving — payroll records updated as your team changes, not reconstructed at year-end.
Who this is for
Hiring your first employee
Paying your first W-2 employee means employer numbers, withholding, and deposit schedules. We’ll help you set it up in the right order.
Small crews
A handful of employees, regular pay periods, and no one in the office whose job is payroll.
S corp owners on salary
Your own owner salary runs through payroll too. This pairs with our S corp tax work so the two stay in step.
How it works
1
Send your payroll details
Who’s on the team, pay rates and schedules, and how payroll has been handled so far.
2
We calculate & schedule
Withholding is calculated each pay period and deposits are scheduled against their deadlines.
3
Filings go out on time
Quarterly and year-end forms are prepared from the same records, and you hear from us before a deadline, not after.
Common questions
What payroll taxes are there?
Generally: federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare (FICA), federal unemployment (FUTA), and state withholding and unemployment where your state requires them.
What do you need from me each pay period?
Hours, pay rates, and any changes — new hires, raises, departures. The calculations and deposit scheduling happen from there.
I missed a deposit. Now what?
Get in touch promptly. Late deposits can draw penalties and interest, and catching up sooner is generally better than later — we’ll look at where things stand with you.
Ready to hand off payroll taxes?
Call (316) 212-1771, email [email protected], or send a message and we’ll take it from there.
Start Here
“I want to lower my tax bill — or increase my refund.”
Good. That’s the right goal, and there’s more than one way to get there. The fastest way to find yours is to talk it through: tell us about your income, your work, and your family, and a tax professional will review everything before anything is filed.
Tell us as much as you can — your job, your income, whether you run a business. A tax professional will confirm the details with you.
First, a quick distinction
A lower tax bill and a bigger refund sound like the same goal, but they work differently — and knowing which one you actually want changes the plan.
Lowering your tax bill
This means owing less tax in the first place. Deductions, credits, retirement contributions, and how your business is structured all work here — they change the math itself.
Increasing your refund
A refund is your own overpayment coming back. You can make it bigger by having more withheld — but that’s smaller paychecks all year for the same total tax. The real win is lowering what you owe, then setting withholding so the refund lands where you want it.
Not sure which fits?
Most people want both: pay no more than they have to, and no surprise bill in April. That’s exactly what we’re here for — we get to the bottom of which methods fit your situation.
Method 1
Deductions: shrink the income you’re taxed on
Deductions reduce the income the tax is calculated from. Some you take automatically; others only count if you track them.
- Standard vs. itemized. You get whichever is larger. Mortgage interest, charitable giving, and state taxes are common itemized items — if they add up past the standard amount, itemizing wins.
- Business expenses. If you’re self-employed, ordinary and necessary business costs — mileage, supplies, tools, software — generally come off your business income. Tracking them all year is the whole game.
- Home office & vehicle. A space used regularly and exclusively for business, and miles driven for work, can both count. The records you keep are what make them stick.
Method 2
Credits: come straight off the tax itself
Credits are stronger than deductions dollar-for-dollar, because they reduce the tax after it’s calculated — and some can increase a refund even past what you paid in.
- Family credits. Credits connected to children and other dependents are among the most commonly missed. Who counts as a dependent matters, and it’s worth confirming.
- Earned income credit. For working households within certain income ranges, this one can be significant — and it’s frequently under-claimed by people who assume they don’t qualify.
- Education & energy credits. College costs, and certain home energy improvements, can carry credits of their own. Receipts and certificates are what make them claimable.
Method 3
Retirement & tax-advantaged accounts: pay yourself, tax less now
Money you put into certain accounts can reduce this year’s taxable income while it builds for later. This is usually the biggest lever available to people with self-employment income.
- Traditional retirement contributions. Contributions to a traditional IRA, or a SEP or solo plan if you’re self-employed, can come off this year’s income. Some can even be made after year-end, up to filing deadlines.
- Workplace plans. Contributing through a 401(k) or similar plan lowers the wages you’re taxed on as you go — no waiting for April.
- Health savings accounts. If you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan, HSA contributions are tax-advantaged going in and coming out for medical costs.
Method 4
Business structure: how your business is taxed
If you run a business, the way it’s set up decides which taxes you pay on the same profit. This is where self-employed filers most often leave money on the table.
- Sole proprietor vs. S corp. A sole proprietor generally pays self-employment tax on all business profit. An S corp splits owner pay between salary and distributions, which are taxed differently.
- It has to pencil out. An S election brings payroll, a separate corporate return, and extra deadlines. For some businesses the saving is real; for others the added cost eats it. The numbers for your business decide.
- Timing matters. The S election (Form 2553) has deadlines of its own. If you’re considering it, the conversation needs to happen before the window, not after.
Method 5
Income & expense timing: use the calendar
Which year income and expenses land in can change what you owe. Most of these moves only exist before December 31 — which is why planning beats April scrambling.
- Shift income where you can. If you invoice clients, when you bill and collect near year-end can move income between years. Useful when one year’s income is much higher than the other.
- Pull expenses forward. Equipment, supplies, or bills you’ll need anyway can sometimes be paid in December instead of January, putting the deduction in the current year.
- Bunch deductions. If you’re close to itemizing, grouping charitable gifts or deductible payments into one year can push you past the standard deduction in that year.
Method 6
Withholding & estimates: fix the April surprise
This method doesn’t change your total tax — it changes whether April feels like a refund, a bill, or a non-event. Getting it right is part of the goal, not an afterthought.
- W-2 withholding. If you owed a lot last April (or got a huge refund), your W-4 may be out of date for your life now. A short adjustment fixes the cycle.
- Quarterly estimates. Self-employed income has no withholding built in. Paying estimates through the year spreads the cost out instead of letting it pile up at year-end.
- Match it to the plan. Once the methods above lower what you owe, withholding gets set to the new number — so the refund reflects the plan, not an accident.
Which method fits you?
That depends on your income, your work, and your family — and it’s exactly what we sort out. Tell us about your situation and a tax professional will confirm the best route with you before anything is filed.
Questions? Call (316) 212-1771 and we’ll talk it through.
Still deciding?
Read more about and , or just ask us: [email protected] · (316) 212-1771. TreadTax is operated by Plett Financial LLC in Kansas.
Our Philosophy
Your money belongs in your pocket.
That’s the whole idea behind TreadTax. There are two pockets your money can end up in at tax time — yours, or the government’s. Our job is to use every legal avenue available to keep as much of it in yours as possible: more of the deductions you’re entitled to, more of the credits you qualify for, and a lower tax liability when the return is done.
Tell us about your income and your work, and a tax professional will confirm where your money can stay with you.
Pay what you owe — not a dollar more
Nobody gets a say in whether taxes exist. But how much of your money goes to them is not fixed. The tax code is full of deductions, credits, and choices about how and when you’re taxed — and most people only ever use the ones that show up automatically.
The government takes its share first
Withholding comes out of every paycheck before you see it. If you never look closer, the default settings decide how much of your money sits in the government’s pocket all year.
The code leaves doors open
Deductions for what you spend to earn a living. Credits for your family, your education, your home. Choices about how your business is taxed. Those doors are there to be used — but you have to walk through them.
We go looking for them
That’s the work. We look at your full picture — income, work, business, family — and line it up against every legal avenue that could keep more of your money with you.
Avenue One
Increase your deductions
Every deduction shrinks the income you’re actually taxed on. Most people take the standard amount and stop there — even when their real, deductible life adds up to more.
- Count what you already spend. Business mileage, tools, supplies, software, a home office — if you spend it to earn your income, it may belong on your return.
- Track it all year. Deductions are won or lost on records. Money you can document is money that can stay in your pocket.
- Take the bigger number. Standard or itemized, you get whichever is larger. We make sure both sides actually get counted before choosing.
Avenue Two
Increase your credits
Credits come straight off the tax itself, dollar for dollar. A deduction trims the target; a credit cuts the bill — and credits are the ones most often left unclaimed.
- Family and dependent credits. Kids and other dependents can carry real credits with them. Who qualifies is worth confirming every year, because families change.
- Work and education credits. Working households and students alike may qualify for credits they’ve never claimed, simply because nobody asked the right questions.
- Home and energy credits. Certain improvements to your home carry credits of their own. If you’ve put money into your house, it’s worth a look.
Avenue Three
Lower the liability itself
Beyond deductions and credits is the structure underneath: how your income is earned, how your business is set up, and when money moves. Get the structure right and the tax bill shrinks before a single form is filled out.
- Retirement contributions. Money you put away for your future can reduce the income you’re taxed on today — it stays yours, and less of it goes to tax.
- Business structure. Sole proprietor or S corp, the same profit can be taxed differently. We run your numbers so the structure serves your pocket, not the default.
- Timing. Income and expenses can often be moved between December and January. Which year they land in changes what you owe — if you plan it instead of discovering it.
How we put it to work
Philosophy is easy. Here’s what it looks like on an actual return.
1
We look at the whole picture
Your income, your job or business, your family, your house — the full situation, not just the forms that arrived in the mail.
2
We find what applies to you
Every deduction you can document, every credit you qualify for, every structural choice that lowers what you owe — matched to your situation.
3
A professional confirms it
A tax professional reviews the details with you and files the return. More of your money stays in your pocket — that’s the job, done.
Let’s see how much stays yours
Tell us about your income, your work, and your family. We’ll get to the bottom of which avenues fit you — and a tax professional will confirm it all before anything is filed.
Rather talk it through? Call (316) 212-1771 or email [email protected].
See the methods in detail
Our page walks through each avenue, and puts them to work before year-end. TreadTax is operated by Plett Financial LLC in Kansas.
Get in touch
Have a question or ready to get started? Send us a message and we'll get back to you shortly.
Contact details
- Email
[email protected] - Phone
(316) 212-1771 - Location
Located in Kansas — serving clients remotely