Seattle Opportunity Zones

Seattle sits within Washington, which has filed its OZ 2.0 nominations: 99 tracts submitted to Treasury on October 8, 2026, per the Washington Commerce. These are nominations, not certified zones: they await Treasury certification, and certified zones take effect January 1, 2027. Details: King County holds 25 of Washington's 99 OZ 2.0 nominations; Kent says five are in the city and the OZ 2.0 nomination tracker. Washington has 396 census tracts eligible under OZ 2.0.

81 eligible tracts fall in Seattle's constituent county (King 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 Seattle neighborhoods qualify than under the 2018 OZ 1.0 map. How states choose OZ 2.0 tracts →

For investors targeting Seattle, 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 Seattle's demographics imply: with a median household income of $110,781 and a 9.2% poverty rate, Seattle 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.