United States Treasury Approves Idaho Opportunity Zone NominationsApril 9, 2018

Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities. Private investment vehicles that place 90 percent or more of their funds into an Opportunity Zone can earn tax relief on the capital gains generated through those investments.

“This is a great way to drive more capital investment toward Idaho neighborhoods and communities that aren’t benefiting as they should from our statewide economic growth,” Governor Otter said. “There are no real strings attached to this market-driven tax treatment by the feds. Nobody is dictating the kind of investments the locals should pursue to promote their own prosperity.”

The governor of each state is permitted to designate 25 percent of its low-income census tracts as Opportunity Zones. Census tracts are deemed “low-income” when the poverty rate is 20 percent or greater and/or family income is less than 80 percent of the area’s median income. After issuing a call to Idaho cities, counties and tribes to apply on behalf of eligible low-income census tracts in their areas, the Idaho Department of Commerce received 59 applications from 24 public entities.

“As the lead economic development agency for the State, I am excited about the potential this program could have in stimulating new investments across all areas of Idaho,” Commerce Director Bobbi-Jo Meuleman said.

The following census tracts will be designated as an Opportunity Zone:

Any questions specific to the area included in each Opportunity Zone census tract should be directed to the local jurisdiction.

To learn more about Opportunity Zones, please visit Idaho Commerce’s Opportunity Zones page or visit the U.S. Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund page.

For a map of all designated Opportunity Zones, click here. To view designated Opportunity Zones, click on the “Layers” button in the menu bar in the top right 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 Opportunity Zones will appear in blue.