The 2018 forms will not be available until much closer to next year's filing time frame. If you start your business after the first month of your tax year or end it before the last month of your tax year, you'll have a short tax year (less than twelve months). Your tax return for the short tax year should reflect income and expenses for the period of time your business was in operation that year.
Here's what you can do. In certain situations, a taxpayer may need to file a short-period return before the newest version of tax software or IRS form is ready for the next tax year. For a short tax year, requirements for filing the return and figuring the tax are generally the same as the requirements for a return for a full tax year (12 months) ending on the last day of the short tax year. See Pub. 538, Accounting Periods and Methods.
This means that you can use the 2017 software and/or IRS form. You must mail this tax return to the IRS and once they are printed you should cross out 2017 on all forms and write 2018 on all forms.
One key issue to remember is the depreciation. To arrive at the correct amount for 2018, you should use the same day and month in the 2017 preparation, for the date of removal from service so that the correct depreciation will be calculated for the short year.
