The new tax bill – what to do now

In my opinion, the new tax bill is, on balance, less than optimal. The bill is over 1,000 pages long and has been called “a simplification.”

To be very general, here’s what an individual can do now (before December 31):

1. Prepay your 2018 real estate taxes.  This is subject to many restrictions, so call your local tax collectors or me to learn the details of how they will accept prepaid property taxes.
2. Increase your charitable contributions.
3. Defer receipt of income until 2018, when there will be lower rates.
4. Set up a SEP-IRA if you have self-employment income and you have not gotten a SEP retirement plan set up previously.

Steps 1 and 2 above will apply if you itemize your deductions, and step 1 will not help if you are subject to alternative minimum tax (AMT).