Nevada Opportunity Zones

In July 2025, federal legislation (H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) made the Opportunity
Zone program a permanent part of the federal tax code and significantly updated its eligibility
rules, investor benefits, and rural incentives. The updated program is widely referred to as
“Opportunity Zones 2.0.”

Under the new law, the Opportunity Zone map will be refreshed every ten years so that
designations track current economic conditions. The first redesignation is underway now.
Governor Joe Lombardo will nominate a new slate of Nevada census tracts in 2026, and the
new zones will take effect January 1, 2027.

Nevada’s original 61 tracts designated as Opportunity Zones in 2018 remain open for
investment through December 31, 2028. There is a two-year overlap (2027 and 2028) during
which both the original zones and the new zones will be valid. Investors who already hold
qualifying investments in the original zones may continue to hold them and still receive the full
benefit of capital gains elimination on long-term holdings.

Working from the updated eligibility, the Nevada draft nomination list was developed based on
input from local governments, regional economic development organizations, tribal nations, and
business and community leaders from across the state. That draft is now open for public
comment, and Nevada will finalize its submission by September 28, 2026.

Under the new law, each Governor may nominate up to 25% of the state’s eligible low-income
census tracts for Opportunity Zone designation. Based on the most recent income and poverty
data in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey estimates, 195
Nevada census tracts are eligible, which allows the state to nominate 49 tracts.

Nevada’s draft nomination list in partnership with local governments, regional economic
development organizations, tribal nations, business and community leaders, and other partners
from across the state. The draft is the product of that outreach — it reflects the tracts these stakeholders identified as Nevada’s strongest candidates for designation, weighed against the
programs eligibility rules and goals.

The draft list is now open for public comment. Stakeholder feedback from residents, businesses,
and community members on the tracts Nevada is proposing to nominate, including any eligible
tracts that should be added or removed is welcomed. Nevada will finalize its submission by
September 28, 2026. Please share your feedback while the public comment period is open.

• Use the tools below to see which Nevada census tracts are eligible for the new round of Opportunity Zones, review the draft nomination list developed with its stakeholders, and provide comment. Nevada will finalize its submission by September 28, 2026.

Eligible Nevada census tracts — Novogradac Opportunity Zones 2.0 Mapping Tool

MAP · ELIGIBLE TRACTS (THIRD-PARTY)

• See every Nevada census tract that is eligible for OZ 2.0 designation under the tighter
  income and poverty criteria, including which eligible tracts fall in rural areas. Maintained by
  Novogradac and updated to reflect the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American
  Community Survey data.
  Open the map: Novogradac Opportunity Zones 2.0 Mapping Tool

Nevada’s draft nomination list

MAP · NEVADA DRAFT NOMINATION LIST

• The census tracts GOED is proposing to nominate for OZ 2.0 designation — developed in
  partnership with local governments, regional economic development organizations, tribal
  nations, and community leaders across the state. Explore the draft to see what is proposed
  in your community.

Comment on the draft nomination list

FORM · PUBLIC COMMENT

• Share your feedback on the tracts Nevada is proposing to nominate, including any eligible
  tracts you believe should be added or removed. We welcome public comments before
  finalizing the state’s submission.
  The comment period is open now.

H.R. 1 makes the Opportunity Zone program permanent and includes several key changes from the original 2017 program:

 

• Permanent program with rolling designations. Opportunity Zones are now a permanent feature of the tax code, with the eligible map redesignated every ten years as new economic data becomes available.
• A simpler, more consistent investor benefit. The new structure replaces the original program’s tiered, time-decaying benefits with a single, predictable incentive: a five-year deferral that begins on the date of investment, plus a 10% step-up in basis for investments held five years. This means every investor receives the same benefit for a given area regardless of when they invest.
• Tighter eligibility. A qualifying low-income community is now defined as a census tract that either (1) has a median family income below 70% of the applicable statewide or metropolitan median, or (2) has a poverty rate of at least 20% together with a median family income no greater than 125% of the applicable median. The income threshold was lowered from 80% under the original program, and the “contiguous tract” exception has been eliminated.
• Enhanced incentives for rural investment. The law creates the Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund, a new class of fund providing substantially stronger benefits for investments in rural zones (see “Opportunity Zones in Rural Areas” below).
• New transparency and reporting requirements. Qualified Opportunity Funds face new federal reporting obligations, and the U.S. Treasury will publish annual reports on Opportunity Zone investment activity and outcomes.

For a detailed, authoritative summary of the changes, the Economic Innovation Group maintains an in-depth review of the program under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

When an investor reinvests capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund, they can receive three federal tax benefits under the new rules:

 

1. Deferral. The investor can defer paying tax on the reinvested capital gain for five years from the date of investment (or until they sell the investment, if earlier).
2. A step-up in basis. If the investment is held for five years, the investor receives a 10% reduction in the deferred gain through a step-up in basis. For qualifying rural investments, this step-up is 30% (see below).
3. Tax-free appreciation. If the investment is held for at least ten years, the investor pays no federal capital gains tax on the appreciation of the Opportunity Zone investment itself. (Basis is frozen at fair market value at the 30-year mark.)

The ten-year benefit of eliminating tax on the growth of the investment is the core advantage of the program and is what drives long-term, patient capital into designated communities.

An illustration. Suppose an investor sells stock and realizes $100,000 in capital gains. They reinvest that $100,000 into a Qualified Opportunity Fund that finances a project in a Nevada Opportunity Zone. The investor defers tax on the original $100,000 gain, and after five years receives a step-up that reduces the taxable portion of that gain. If they hold the Opportunity

Zone investment for at least ten years and it doubles in value, they owe no federal capital gains tax on that $100,000 of appreciation, a benefit that would not exist outside the program.

A business located in an Opportunity Zone must meet several federal requirements to qualify for investment through a Qualified Opportunity Fund. Generally, a qualifying Opportunity Zone business must:

 

• Hold at least 70% of its tangible property as qualifying Opportunity Zone business property, property acquired after 2017 from an unrelated party that is either original-use property or substantially improved, and used in the zone.
• Derive at least 50% of its gross income from the active conduct of a trade or business within the Opportunity Zone.
• Use a substantial portion (at least 40%) of its intangible property in the active conduct of business in the zone.
• Hold less than 5% of its assets in nonqualified financial property.
• Not operate an excluded “sin” business (such as a golf course, country club, gambling establishment, massage parlor, or liquor store selling for off-premises consumption).

Business owners considering Opportunity Zone investment should also weigh whether they are prepared to take on outside equity, expect meaningful growth over a ten-year horizon, and intend to remain in the zone for the long term.

A Qualified Opportunity Fund is an investment vehicle organized as a corporation or partnership formed specifically to invest in Opportunity Zone property and businesses. You do not have to live, work, or own a business in an Opportunity Zone to invest in one.

Qualified Opportunity Funds generally must:

• Be funded with private capital and operate on market principles.
• Hold at least 90% of their assets in qualifying Opportunity Zone property.
• Invest through Opportunity Zone stock, partnership interests, or business property.
• Direct capital toward new business activity, new construction, or the substantial improvement of existing property.

An investor who realizes a capital gain generally has 180 days to reinvest it into a Qualified Opportunity Fund in order to qualify for the tax benefits.

Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds. The new law adds the Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund, a rural-focused fund class which holds at least 90% of its assets in Opportunity Zone property located entirely within rural-designated zones. These funds carry enhanced benefits, described below.

The new law creates significantly stronger incentives for investment in rural Opportunity Zones. Under the law, a “rural area” is any area other than (1) a city or town with a population greater than 50,000 and (2) an urbanized area that is contiguous and adjacent to such a city or town. Investments in rural zones, made through a Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund, receive:

 

• A 30% step-up in basis at the five-year mark, triple the 10% step-up available for standard Opportunity Zone investments.
• A reduced “substantial improvement” threshold. Ordinarily, an investment in existing property must double the property’s adjusted basis within 30 months to qualify. In rural areas, that threshold is cut in half, to 50%, making many rehabilitation projects that would otherwise fall short eligible for the incentive.

Importantly, the reduced 50% substantial-improvement threshold for rural areas took effect immediately when the law was signed in July 2025, and it applies to investments in existing Opportunity Zones designated in 2018 as well as future designated Opportunity Zones that meet the rural definition. The U.S. Treasury has issued guidance (IRS Notice 2025-50) identifying which current Opportunity Zone tracts qualify as rural.

Not every project is a good fit for Opportunity Zone investment. We encourage Nevada communities to think about how this incentive fits alongside their existing economic development tools. The communities that attract the most investment tend to be the ones that make their opportunities easy to find and easy to act on.

We recommend that communities:

• Be proactive. Identify and package the projects you most want to see funded, and make them visible to investors and fund managers.
• Think like an investor. Focus on projects with a credible path to a long-term return, since Opportunity Zone capital is patient but return-seeking.
• Layer your incentives. Combine Opportunity Zone investment with other state, local, and federal programs to strengthen the overall financing picture.
• Build an investment prospectus. A clear, data-backed prospectus that presents your community’s assets and shovel-ready projects is one of the most effective ways to attract Opportunity Zone capital.

You do not need to live, work, or operate a business in an Opportunity Zone to invest in one. Investors with realized capital gains can participate by reinvesting those gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund within 180 days of realizing the gain. The fund then finances projects and businesses in Nevada’s designated opportunity zones.

Nevada integrates Opportunity Zone investment into its broader economic development strategy, with particular interest in projects that align with the state’s priority sectors, including advanced manufacturing and logistics, technology and innovation, renewable energy, mining and minerals, and tourism.