If you expect to have taxable capital gains in 2018, a good strategy to employ is “loss harvesting”.

• Loss harvesting is selling investments such as stocks and mutual funds that realize losses. These losses can be used to offset any taxable gains you have realized during the year, and any losses greater than your capital gains up to $3,000 can be used against other ordinary income. Any excess losses over $3,000 can be carried over to the next year.
• Contribute the maximum to retirement accounts. The 401(k) limit is $18,500 in 2018 and $24,500 if you are age 50 or over. The IRA limit is $5,500 plus an extra $1,000 if you are 50 or older and you have until April 15, 2019 to make the contribution. For self employed individuals there is a SEP (simplified employee pension) with a contribution limit of 25% of compensation with a maximum contribution limit of $55,000. Another option is a “Uni (k) plan for business owners with no other employees.
• Defer your income if you are self-employed by delaying your billings until late December to ensure payments won’t be made until January 2019.