“Better to find out what’s owed now than three months from now,” Keylor said. “If it turns out a client is under withheld, they should make a 2018 Q4 estimated payment even though it will be late if postmarked after January 15. There may be a small charge for paying late, but it will head off any additional estimated payment penalties in April.”
Tactics to consider for the coming year include charitable planning, an IRA RMD directly to charity and harvesting capital losses, tax advisors said.
“If the high-net-worth client has self-employment income, he or she may be able to reduce tax liability by making a retirement contribution before their return is filed for 2018, such as in a simplified employee pension IRS, a defined benefit or defined contribution plan and so on,” Ganoe said.