When Opportunity Knocks, We Can Help You to Answer

The federal Opportunity Zone (or OZ) program, created as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, offers significant capital gains tax exemptions for taxpayers who invest in projects and businesses in low-income areas, allowing investors to delay, reduce and potentially eliminate capital gains taxes on Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) investments.

Under the program, individuals and other entities can delay paying federal income tax on capital gains until as late as December 31, 2026 – as long as those gains are invested in Opportunity Funds (or OFs) investing 90 percent of their assets in businesses or tangible property located in OZs. The gains on investments in OFs can also be federal income tax-free if the investment is held for at least 10 years. These tax benefits could reduce the cost of capital for these projects, making them more viable, especially when combined with other development incentives like the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC).

Bovino Law Group helps guide the early phases of this emerging investment class and assists its clients in analyzing and executing the OZ program.

Among other things, we can help our clients with:

  • Fund/Business Formation– Forming and capitalizing Opportunity Funds and qualified OZ businesses;
  • Investment Advice– Structuring investments in qualified OFs and OZ businesses, including the interplay of OZ and other tax programs, including NMTC, LIHTC, EB-5 visas and the like; and
  • Regulatory Compliance– Assessing regulatory concerns and eligibility requirements of being a business or an Opportunity Fund within an OZ.

Bovino Law Group also helps government agencies, NGOs, universities, and technology associations to create, develop, and implement technology-led economic development programs.