Late last week, the governors of New York and Pennsylvania submitted their selections for opportunity zone designations to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Those nominations are expected to be approved by Treasury to take advantage of the new federal tax incentive program. The federal Opportunity Zone program is a new tax incentive designed to direct investor capital into various low-income and distressed areas around the country. The program affords investors the opportunity to defer and reduce capital gains that are invested in opportunity funds. In addition, an investor who holds an interest in an opportunity fund for 10 years or more does not pay any tax on the gain when the opportunity fund investment is sold or transferred. Additional details can be found in an earlier article we published here.

A listing of New York’s 514 zone nominations can be found here.

A listing of Pennsylvania’s 300 zone nominations can be found here.

We will continue to keep you updated as more details emerge on this transformative program, including expected guidance from the Internal Revenue Service regarding qualified opportunity fund certification and qualified opportunity zone property.