The U.S. Treasury Department formally opened the Opportunity Zone 2.0 nomination cycle on July 1, 2026. Governors now have 90 days, with a single 30-day extension available, to nominate eligible census tracts drawn from the 25,332 low-income community tracts nationwide, including territories, identified in Revenue Procedure 2026-14 — 8,334 of them entirely rural. By law, no state may nominate more than 25% of its low-income community tracts. The new Opportunity Zones take effect January 1, 2027 and run through December 31, 2036. The move operationalizes the permanent OZ program enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which renewed the incentive, added enhanced benefits for rural investment, and established a 10-year nomination cycle.
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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