First flip... tax best practices....?

[Carson Wilcox]

So... first flip is in construction phase... I hope to have some good profit at the end..

For all of you tax geniuses.. 

I am looking for the idiots guide to taxes on your first flip. I am not to the point of LLC and all that... first flip... shooting to do 2 over 2017-2018 at least... but 2018's taxes will likely have no more than 2 on it. I want to be legit, but not overly generous... I closed 9/26/17 and have a bunch of $ in 2017.... spent... I assume I write that off in 2017...? Or do I write that off in the year I sell it?

Love to hear book or blog recomendations.