The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) designated 6,576 census tracts as Opportunity Zones, including 2,594 rural tracts where qualifying fund investments can receive a larger tax benefit starting in 2027.
The designations will remain in place for 10 years and cover all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Census tracts are statistical subdivisions of counties used to report population and economic data.
For a qualifying rural Opportunity Fund investment held at least five years, the 2025 law provides a basis increase equal to 30% of deferred gain, compared with 10% for other qualifying investments. Rural funds must meet asset and property requirements, and the amended rules apply to fund investments made after Dec. 31, 2026.
Investors use Qualified Opportunity Funds to access the tax incentives; those funds invest in property within designated zones. The 2025 law made the incentive permanent and set new designation rounds every 10 years. Treasury describes the program’s purpose as directing private capital toward economically distressed communities.
Treasury and the IRS said an initial eligibility list released April 6, 2026, included 25,332 tracts, of which 8,334 were rural. Another 130 eligible tracts, including 28 rural tracts, were nominated during the statutory window. The agencies said they designated every eligible tract nominated by the deadline. EconoTimes previously covered South Carolina’s Sept. 23 Opportunity Zone nominations.
Treasury said more than $110 billion in private-sector investment had been made since the Opportunity Zone incentives were established under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Its announcement gave no calculation method or measurement end date for the figure. It also did not quantify the expected federal tax-revenue cost, forecast investment in the new zones or independently assess how much investment, job creation or growth resulted from the tax incentive.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the program offers “investors, entrepreneurs, and local leaders the long-term certainty they need.” The designations take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
