Denver Opportunity Zones

Denver sits within Colorado, which has filed its OZ 2.0 nominations: 91 tracts submitted to Treasury on September 28, 2026, per the OEDIT. These are nominations, not certified zones: they await Treasury certification, and certified zones take effect January 1, 2027. Details: Colorado expects Treasury action on its 91 OZ 2.0 nominations by the end of November and the OZ 2.0 nomination tracker. Colorado has 362 census tracts eligible under OZ 2.0.

51 eligible tracts fall in Denver's constituent county (Denver County) per the IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-14 appendix — the same county totals shown on the state page. OZ 2.0's tightened eligibility criteria — median family income at or below 70% of the state/metro reference (down from 80% under OZ 1.0), with the contiguous-tract option eliminated — means fewer Denver neighborhoods qualify than under the 2018 OZ 1.0 map. How states choose OZ 2.0 tracts →

For investors targeting Denver, the OZ 2.0 tax benefits — rolling 5-year deferral, 10% basis step-up (or 30% for Rural QROFs in qualifying rural tracts), and 100% federal-tax-free exclusion of QOF appreciation after a 10-year hold — apply to investments made on or after January 1, 2027. See the full OZ 1.0 vs 2.0 comparison →

What Denver's demographics imply: with a median household income of $78,177 and a 12.8% poverty rate, Denver is likely to keep a meaningful share of Opportunity Zone tracts in higher-poverty census areas, while higher-income neighborhoods that qualified through the contiguous-tract pathway under OZ 1.0 will lose zone status under OZ 2.0.