UPDATED 12/19/17 — at the last minute, Congress decided to explicitly forbid prepayment of state income tax (but not property tax), so unfortunately, #5 below now only refers to making 4Q 2017 estimated payments, not any payments for 2018.
With tax “reform” looming, there is still a great deal of uncertainty in terms of what the new year will bring. However, there are some tips that are worth taking, given what we do know. I’ve attended three tax update webinars this month and read quite a few articles on the topic, and reduced the list to these essentials:
- Defer Income into 2018
- Accelerate Deductions into 2017
- Boost Donations to Charities in 2017
- Prepay Property Taxes in 2017
- Prepay State Estimated Taxes in 2017 (see update above)
- Harvest Investment Losses Against Capital Gains in 2017
- Max-Out Retirement Contributions in 2017
- Pay Deductible Medical Expenses in 2017
- Pay Miscellaneous Deductible Expenses in 2017
- Pay For Your Move in 2017
Please click on the links below for more information:
Accounting Today: Six ways taxpayers can make the new tax bill work for them, if they act fast
CNBC: Year-end tax moves to make before tax reform kicks in
Fox Business: Top year-end tips for taxpayers
And for the most astute, intelligent, comprehensible, and clever coverage of the tax bill, I suggest you follow Tony Nitti’s column in Forbes. Here’s his latest: The Tax Bill Is Finalized: Who’s Happy, And Who’s Not?
This particular article breaks it down section by section and identifies the winners and losers. Excellent coverage.