Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department designated more than 100 communities throughout Harris County, in which Sealy & Company owns several properties, as “Opportunity Zones.” These low-income areas sprinkled across the nation have been dubbed Opportunity Zones in an effort to encourage private investment and development for federal tax benefits to drive long-term capital growth and job creation.

Under the law, investors may obtain three types of federal tax benefits as a result of investing in a “qualified opportunity fund.” These incentives include the following: tax deferment on property sales gains described with stipulations, elimination of up to fifteen percent of gains reinvested in a qualified opportunity fund, and given investors hold their interest in the fund for at least ten years, they may owe no tax on the sale of their interest in the qualified opportunity fund. Because of this, it is expected that real estate investors will be more heavily deploying their capital here to capitalize on the tax incentives offered.

For a map of Texas Opportunity Zones, or more information regarding the Opportunity Zones Program, or the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, visit the IRS website.