When to pay taxes on a flip property

[Alex T.]

Hi Everyone - I'm looking for some advice on how to report my 2017 taxes as it relates to rehabbing expenses.

I just finished renovating a single-family house that I purchased at the end of July 2017. I own the property in an LLC. Since I started this real estate adventure (in early 2017), I have closely tracked every expense. I have categorized each expense, so it's either a business expense (e.g. credit card annual membership fee, LLC fees, tool for construction that I can use again on future projects, etc.) or a project expense (e.g. labor and building materials for the house I'm renovating, driving directly related to the property, etc.).

I'm putting the house on the market in the next few weeks. I know it's a bit late to be asking for tax advice, but how do I report my losses in 2017? I am assuming I should report all business losses (again, the expenses to run the LLC - those not directly attributable to the renovation property) on my 2017 return, and then I will report my total income (sale price - purchase price + project costs) from the sale in 2018 (assuming it sells in 2018...it better!). Does this sound right?

Full disclaimer, I know this is a forum, and I'm asking only for friendly advice. I realize not everyone is a CPA and not all advice is legally sound. I think what I have here is a fairly common situation, and I just want to hear what people think to make sure I am on the right track. As much as I'd love to sit down with a good CPA and spend $500-1000 doing my taxes, my wife and I try to use Turbo Tax. Obviously, if I ever do a lot of flips, I'd invest in a good CPA...but for my first flip, it's not practical unless I were to run into a complex situation. Ok, I'm rambling. Thanks in advance for the help!