ADVISE: I made $120,000 in 2017 and was planning to buy a house to decrease taxes. My CPA told me if I buy a home now, I'll only get a tax break for Nov and Dec. Is that the case? If so, I have $100,000 in cash I can liquidate. Aside from putting $18,000 in a 401k. How else can I use that money to get tax breaks? Thanks! PS. I won't be making the $120,000 next year.

If you will make way less in 2018 you will not have much tax more to pay.  If you start looking for a home now it appears by mid Dec you will be closing a home so you have 2 weeks of write off not 60 days hardly worth it.  

There is an on going income tax reduction proposal in congress. Everything will be simplified and tax rate will be less. For 2017 you may be able to claim more charity contribution as deduction check your filing schedule. Invest in tax free(CA) may be an option as it can go up and down check Fedelity or Vanguard.

@Miranda Martz

Make HSA and or ESA contribution if possible.  Possibly income averaging-ask your accountant to help.  The sooner the better. They know your personal circumstances-age marital status, kids, assets, etc

@Miranda Martz where did this extra 2017 money come from? Is it taxable income? 

When you say "buy a home", do you mean "Buying a personal residence" or "Buying a flip" or "Buying a rental property"?

I believe you can only tax the purchase price of a flip as a write off during the year that you SELL it, not buy it.

Do you have an established business of any sort? If so, one strategy is to purchase something necessary for that business (heavy equipment, truck, ect).  But this really only works if you needed it anyway.

May I suggest looking into a solo(k) retirement account?  I believe you can put in up to $55k per year, and you can use those funds to invest in real estate, or make loans to yourself for other business ventures.  Here's a link to the info.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/one-participa...

Good luck!