Opportunity Zones

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Opportunity zones were created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act when Congress passed §1400Z. The goal of the Opportunity Zone program is to stimulate economic development and job creation by incentivizing long-term capital investments into underdeveloped areas. 

Opportunity zones are identified by census tracts, and each state can designate up to 25% of their qualifying census tracts as opportunity zones.  In many instances, the only difference between a qualifying opportunity zone investment and a non-qualifying investment is the side of the street, and there are often valuable real estate parcels located in prime locations that qualify for the tax incentives. Still, merely owning opportunity zone real estate is not enough. Investments made into opportunity zones must be made in a specific manner to qualify for the tax savings.