Webinar: Opportunity Zones 2.0: The New Rules, the December 2026 Deadline, and the CPA Planning Playbook

Overview

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21, enacted July 4, 2025) made the Opportunity Zone program a permanent feature of the Internal Revenue Code and rewrote its core mechanics effective January 1, 2027, while leaving the original program’s December 31, 2026 gain-recognition date in place. Arizona CPAs therefore face two simultaneous obligations: closing out the original regime for existing investors during the 2026 filing season, and advising on the substantially different permanent regime that begins days later.
This session provides a practical update on both. Attendees will review the original program’s mechanics, work through the December 31, 2026recognition event and the year-end actions it requires, and learn the new rules in depth: the decennial zone designation process and tightened low-income community definition, the rolling five-year deferral, the 10 percent basis step-up, Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds with a 30 percent step-up and reduced substantial improvement threshold, the 30-year fair market value framework, and the new information reporting regime under sections 6039K and 6039L with penalties under section 6726. The session closes with client identification profiles, comparisons to alternative strategies, three case studies, a risk discussion, and a twelve-point review checklist. Three scenario-based knowledge checks reinforce the learning objectives. All content is educational; no investment product is offered or recommended.

Designed For

Objectives

Upon completing this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the major statutory changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) to the Opportunity Zone program, including permanence, the decennial zone designation process, and the new reporting requirements.
2. 2.Distinguish Opportunity Zone 1.0 investments from Opportunity Zone 2.0 investments, including the December 31, 2026 recognition date for existing deferrals versus the rolling five-year deferral applicable to investments made on or after January 1, 2027.
3. Calculate the deferral, basis step-up, and recognition consequences of a hypothetical Qualified Opportunity Fund investment under the Opportunity Zone 2.0 rules, including the enhanced benefits available through Qualified Rural Opportunity Funds.
4. Evaluate common client fact patterns, including a business sale, a real estate disposition, and concentrated stock, for Opportunity Zone planning suitability against alternatives such as a section 1031 exchange, an installment sale, charitable strategies, or paying the tax currently.
5. Recognize the compliance, documentation, timing, and risk issues a CPA must monitor, including deferral elections, Forms 8996 and 8997, the new reporting regime under sections 6039K and 6039L, state conformity differences, and the limits of the tax benefits.

Thank you to the sponsor of this webinar:

• Caliber Co

This webinar is complimentary for ASCPA members. Login instructions will be sent 24 hours prior to the event.