To Do BY DECEMBER 31ST to Lower your Tax Bill

• Pay your 2018 property taxes by 12/29.  You can deduct your local property taxes from your federal income tax bill, but starting Jan. 1, there's a $10,000 limit on all of your state and local taxes, including property taxes.
• Make your business expenses now.  Buy everything you can by year end.
• Max out as many other deductions as you can.  The general rule of thumb is: Try to take the credit or deduction in 2017.
• Put more money into your 401(k) or IRA retirement plans if you can.
• Prepay your home-equity loan interest.  That deduction goes away next year.
• Another deduction that's going away in 2018 is for tax preparation services.  Pay it now, you can still deduct it.
• Try to prepay investment management fees, since those are going away, too, in 2018.
• Delay income until 2018.

Pay your property taxes TODAY!

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas has expedited next year's first installment bill in order to allow more accurate prepayments.  The bills are available at her website cookcountytreasurer.com and prepayments can be made online through Chase banks for the first time, she said.

Essentially, homeowners can prepay an amount equal to their previous year's tax bill since the pending year's tax bill is unknown, officials said.  They can prepay only up to one year.  They will be billed for any increase in their taxes or sent refunds in the slim chance their property tax burden was reduced.

Prepayments need to be made by Dec. 29, the last business day of 2017, to count on this year's tax returns.