The IRS released Notice 2026-55 on September 22, 2026, asking for comments by November 23 on how to implement Opportunity Zone section 1400Z-2 after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The notice asks whether tax rules can better support single-family home construction under Executive Order 14394, when QOZBs may modify working-capital safe-harbor plans, what guidance operating businesses need, and how the new 10-year election and 30-year fair-market-value rule should work for investments made after December 31, 2026. It also restates the OBBBA basis step-up: 10% after five years, or 30% for a qualified rural opportunity fund. Comments go to Regulations.gov docket IRS-2026-1156.
The notice. The IRS posted Notice 2026-55 (Request for Additional Comments on Issues under § 1400Z-2 Regarding Investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds and Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses) and lists it on its Opportunity Zones page. KPMG reports the IRS released the notice on September 22, 2026. Written comments are due November 23, 2026, with later comments considered only if they will not delay guidance.
Where to file. Per Notice 2026-55, commenters should reference the notice in the subject line and may file electronically on Regulations.gov docket IRS-2026-1156, or by mail to Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice 2026-55), Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. The notice says the Treasury Department and the IRS will publish comments submitted to that public docket.
OBBBA context the notice restates. Section 2 of the notice summarizes the July 4, 2025 OBBBA amendments. For amounts invested in QOFs after December 31, 2026, deferred gain is generally included no later than five years after the qualifying investment. If the investment is held at least five years, basis increases by 10% of the deferred gain, or by 30% for an investment in a qualified rural opportunity fund (QROF). For investments held at least 10 years with a § 1400Z-2(c) election, basis is generally fair market value on sale if the sale is before the 30-year date, otherwise fair market value on the 30-year date. Our guide to investing in Opportunity Zones starting January 1, 2027 covers how those rules apply once new designations take effect.
Single-family home construction. Citing Executive Order 14394 (Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction, 91 FR 13207), Notice 2026-55 asks how § 1400Z-2 incentives could better support HUD programs and single-family home construction, including coordination with the New Markets Tax Credit under § 45D. It also asks for detailed legal analysis on whether any authority exists to defer income or gain when a QOF develops and sells single-family homes and reinvests the proceeds within a reasonable period — and how that analysis would differ for direct housing-inventory sales versus sales of QOZ stock or partnership interests in a homebuilding QOZB.
Working capital safe harbor. The notice asks whether a QOZB should be allowed to modify a working-capital safe-harbor plan, under what circumstances, whether a modified plan must stay “substantially consistent” with the original, and how that should work when a QOZB has overlapping or sequential safe-harbor applications. It also seeks clarity on how spending working-capital assets on property that may not be qualified opportunity zone business property interacts with the 70% tangible-property standard.
Operating businesses, the 10-year election and inclusion events. Notice 2026-55 asks what additional guidance would help operating businesses use the incentive, including inventory and QOZBP use rules. It seeks comments on the time and manner of making the § 1400Z-2(c) election when an investment has not been sold by the 30-year date, valuation and substantiation of fair market value on that date, and pass-through modifications for partnership or S corporation QOFs. It also asks about inclusion-event deferral, debt-financed distributions or losses, and disguised-sale rules.
Tribal and Alaska Native communities. The notice notes that some designated QOZs overlap Tribal and Alaska Native communities, including trust lands, Alaska Native Villages and Tribal areas in Oklahoma, and that OBBBA enhanced benefits for qualifying rural investments. It requests comments on how the incentive has been used in those communities and what clarifications might encourage investment on Tribal and ANCSA lands.
How this fits the guidance stack. Notice 2026-55 sits alongside Rev. Proc. 2026-14 (nomination procedures), Notice 2026-40 (transitional guidance) and the September 11 proposed information-reporting rules under REG-116506-25, whose comment deadline we covered in our October 26 reporting-rules article. Sponsors raising for January 2027 now have two federal comment clocks: REG-116506-25 through October 26, and Notice 2026-55 through November 23. Track state nomination filings on the OZ 2.0 nomination tracker.
Original reporting by Marcus Delgado for Opportunity Zone Invest, an independent OZ 2.0 research site. Facts are drawn from the primary sources cited above per our editorial standards. Nothing here is tax, legal, or investment advice.
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