About

The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act made Opportunity Zones permanent and reset the map. There is good national-level coverage from EIG, Novogradac, and the OZ industry press. There is almost no resource that helps a planner in a rural-eligible county figure out which tracts they have, who to convene, and how OZ stacks with other federal capital.

This is that resource. It is neutral, evidence-based, and designed to be useful regardless of political stance. It does not advocate for or against designation — it helps planners understand their options and engage the process.

Phase 1 covered the nomination round: all 50 states and DC were live by mid-June 2026, before the federal window opened July 1, 2026. With that window closed and designations taking effect January 1, 2027, the work shifts from helping communities get tracts nominated to helping them understand what was designated, what the capital actually does once it arrives, and whether OZ 2.0 performs any better than OZ 1.0 did. The new § 6039K reporting regime will, for the first time, make that last question answerable — see what happens next.

Maintained by Jason Vargo.

Scope

• 50 states + DC spotlight pages
• Coalition playbook, capital stack guide, OZ 1.0 evidence summary
• OZ 1.0 case study library and the finance study guide
• Program timeline, Notice 2026-40 transition rules, and the OZ reporting rule
• Off-list nomination (Section 5.04) explainer
• Native/tribal callout on every applicable state page

Not in scope

• Eligibility maps (embedded from EIG and IRS)
• Investor fund discovery
• The 5 U.S. territories (Phase 2)
• Editorial framing on displacement or gentrification (separate essay)