Qualified Opportunity Funds: How QOFs Work in 2025-2026, Pros and Cons
Qualified opportunity funds are a way to help invest in distressed communities while saving on capital gains taxes.
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
What is a qualified opportunity fund?
A qualified opportunity fund (QOF) is an investment fund that pools money from investors and uses it to invest in businesses or properties in low-income or economically distressed areas of the country. Investors in QOFs get preferential capital gains tax treatment. The intent of QOFs is to revitalize communities.
People who have sold investments at a profit may be able to defer or reduce the capital gains tax on those profits if they reinvest those profits in a qualified opportunity fund.
Pros and cons of qualified opportunity funds
Help revitalize a community.
Defer capital gains taxes.
Potential diversification opportunity.
Complexity.
Extra paperwork at tax time.
Long time horizon.
Advantages of qualified opportunity funds
QOFs can be helpful if you’ve sold an asset (real estate, investments, a business, etc.) and have a large capital gains tax liability on your hands, or you’d like to offload an investment but the capital gains tax consequences have kept you from doing so. By rolling those capital gains into a qualified opportunity fund, you can defer and reduce your capital gains tax liability, diversify your portfolio and make a positive impact.
There are two main tax benefits of investing in qualified opportunity funds:
Tax deferral. For investments made in 2026 or earlier, you can defer paying taxes on your original capital gain until December 31, 2026, or until you sell your QOF investments, whichever comes first. For investments made in 2027 or later, you can defer paying taxes on your original capital gain for five years or until you sell your QOF investment, whichever comes first.
Timing. The longer you hold onto your QOF investment, the greater your overall tax benefit:
If you keep your QOF investment for more than five years, the government lets you increase the cost basis on your original capital gain by 10%, which effectively excludes you from having to pay capital gains tax on 10% of your original capital gain. If you've invested in a qualified rural opportunity fund, the benefit is bigger; your cost basis increases by 30% instead of 10%.
If you hold your QOF investment beyond 10 years, you'll owe no capital gains on any additional appreciation beyond what you paid.
“It’s very substantial. The net benefit to investors or the impact is between 40% to 50% higher after-tax returns than a non-opportunity zone investment,” says Jill Homan, president of Javelin 19 Investments, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and investment advisory firm focused on qualified opportunity zones.
Qualified opportunity funds also provide investors with a way to diversify their portfolios outside of the traditional stock and bond markets; they can branch out into real estate or startup businesses. Investors can choose from single-asset investment opportunities or multiasset funds that invest in a collection of properties or businesses, often spread across different asset classes or geographies.
Disadvantages of qualified opportunity funds
Many rules apply to QOFs, some of which may be high hurdles for certain investors.
Quick turnaround required. If you want the capital gains tax break, you have to reinvest your eligible capital gains into a qualified opportunity fund within 180 days of when the gain would be recognized.
Some gains don't qualify. Only capital gains or qualified 1231 gains (gains on certain types of business properties) recognized for federal income tax purposes count. Capital gains you got from transactions with a related person don't count.
The funds may have personal requirements. Depending upon the qualified opportunity fund, you may need to be an accredited investor in order to participate. That means having earned income of at least $200,000 in each of the past two years ($300,000 with a spouse) and net worth, alone or with a spouse, of at least $1 million in investable assets.
Long investment horizon. To get the maximum tax benefits, you have to hold your QOF investment for a relatively long time, so make sure to invest funds you won’t need for a while.
Homework required. Investing in qualified opportunity funds requires due diligence on your part. You’ll need to examine the fund’s tax filings and assets within the fund, as well as get comfortable with the management team, investment strategy and potential returns. However, Homan points out, QOF investors often have more visibility into the underlying investments within the fund compared to private equity funds.
Extra paperwork at tax time. Investing through a QOF requires preparing and filing a few extra tax forms, which could cost time and money.
How qualified opportunity funds work
Qualified opportunity funds pool money from investors and then use it to purchase properties within a designated opportunity zone. They must follow several rules regarding the use of the money, such as:
The fund must hold at least 90% of its assets in qualified opportunity zone property.
The fund must make "substantial improvements" to the property within 30 months of the investment.
The improvements have to be in an amount equal to the investment at the time of purchase. For example, if a qualified opportunity fund purchases a building for $1 million, they have 30 months to make a minimum of $1 million worth of improvements to that building.
The intent is to propel economic growth through job creation, business activity and expanded housing options.
Which areas qualify for QOF investment?
States can nominate low-income communities (and, perhaps, their surrounding areas) to be designated as opportunity zones, and the nomination must be certified by the U.S. Treasury Department. Once a location is selected and approved, qualified opportunity funds can begin investing in properties and businesses within the opportunity zone to make improvements.
Opportunity funds that invest primarily in rural areas are called qualified rural opportunity funds.
The IRS has a visual map of designated qualified opportunity zones.
How to invest in qualified opportunity funds
In order to make sure you’re following the rules, considering all potential implications and filing the appropriate paperwork, consulting with tax or financial advisors who are well-versed in qualified opportunity funds can help smooth the investment process.
“Whether an investor is eligible to use opportunity zones depends on the character of the gain and timing of that gain,” Homan says.
She recommends that investors who are interested in qualified opportunity funds and have gains start out by talking with their accountant. “That’s really your first step — to become equipped and know this is the timing I’m working with, this is the amount of capital I have, and then your next step is looking at your options in the marketplace.”
Despite needing to jump through some hoops, opportunity zone investments are compelling.
“For investors, there are a number of funds to evaluate, and you can also look at investing in individual deals. This is a really active marketplace and one of the most significant tax incentives in a generation. It’s going to do a whole lot of good,” Homan says.