[Corrected Comment] Just realized I read your dates incorrectly. If you will receive payment in 2017, you report it on your 2017 taxes. we don't get to choose when to claim the income we receive or payments we make. We have to claim it in the tax year it occurs. So if you make a tax deductible payment in 2017, you have no choice but to claim it on your 2017 return, or don't claim it ever.
