As we all know, the new tax laws were passed by Congress the last week of December, which means a lot of changes are in store for 2018.
I've put together two charts that I hope will help you with the changes. The first chart compares 2017 to 2018 and the second shows the actual tax rates for 2017 and 2018 (you all can play with it by putting in your/your client’s estimated AGI and see how much you/your client will pay). Of course, one big change is the deduction limit is $10K for real estate and state income taxes so AGI may be higher in that case.
In general, since tax rates are lower for next year, you want to defer as much income as possible into 2018 and pay real estate taxes for 2018, make an extra mortgage payment this year, paying of 2017 state/local taxes, etc. in 2017. As always, the CPA should be consulted regarding specific questions as the new law is complicated especially pass through entities.
Hope it helps and feel free to print them out for future reference.
As Shakespeare wrote, may “Health, peace and sweet content be yours” in the New Year.
Brett
Author
John