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Opportunity Zones

Support Community Restoration.

Increase Your Capital Gains.

Opportunity Zones provide a win-win solution for everyone. Created to support recovery and growth in distressed communities, these zones also provide tax incentives for investors willing to invest in rural and low-income areas. In 2018, the Governor designated various Opportunity Zones in West Virginia that are eligible to receive this private funding for community improvement.

Investors benefit from the real estate or business investments within these areas, while also enjoying tax deferring benefits on any capital gains received from these investments.

Determining the Opportunity Zones

  • The Governor was able to determine up to 25% of the total number of eligible areas to be designated as Opportunity Zones.
  • Low-income census tracts were used to determine eligible areas within each state. Low-income census tracts are places where the individual poverty rate is at least 20% or median family income is no greater than 80% of the area median.
  • Up to 5% of these population areas that are not low-income communities can qualify under an exemption if the median family income of the tract does not exceed 125% of the median family income of the low-income community contiguous with the tract.
  • These designated opportunity zones will remain in place for ten years.

Invest in Opportunity Zones

Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOF) are the investment vehicles used to invest in Opportunity Zones. Organized as corporations or partnerships, the fund account must hold at least 90% of its assets in designated Opportunity Zones.

Investors who are interested in investing in a potential Opportunity Zone may submit letters of interest.

Please submit letters of interest to Patricia.J.White@wv.gov

 

Want to learn more?

View these resources concerning Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs) in West Virginia.

 

*To view all designated QOZs, click on the “Layers” tab on the menu on the right hand side of the screen. Select “Opportunity Zone Tract” and unselect “2011-2015 LIC Census Tract,” and zoom in to a specific area on the map. Designated QOZs will appear in blue. (Please note that if other layer options are selected, it will change the colors of the tracts.)

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