Texas and the New Opportunity Zone Map: Where OZ 2.0 Stands
by Will Ramirez, on Sep 14, 2026, 2:00:00 PM
The federal Opportunity Zone incentive was made permanent in 2025, and with that permanence came a new, recurring step: every ten years, states nominate a fresh map of Opportunity Zone census tracts. In the summer of 2026, Texas began working through that process.
For developers, investors, and companies planning capital-intensive projects, the stakes are long-term — the tracts a state nominates now will determine where Opportunity Zone tax benefits are available for the next decade.
Recent Program Activity: What Changed
Under IRS guidance, the state nomination window for the new round opened on July 1, 2026, and runs for 90 days, with a possible 30-day extension. In Texas, the Governor’s Economic Development & Tourism (EDT) office led the state’s selection process: after the local submission window closed on June 26, 2026, EDT evaluated more than 1,200 recommended tracts from roughly 175 local economic-development organizations and county judges, and targeted August 17, 2026, for its submission to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
As of late August 2026, the state’s official Opportunity Zones page had not yet posted a confirmed final nominee list, and the August 17 date was Texas’s own target rather than the federal statutory deadline. Treasury certification is expected after the state submits, with Texas citing an expected certification date of November 28. Businesses should monitor the state and Treasury for the official map before drawing conclusions about specific sites.
Program Overview: How Opportunity Zones Work
Opportunity Zones offer federal tax benefits to investors who reinvest capital gains into qualified opportunity funds that deploy capital in designated census tracts. Under the permanent framework, a new qualifying investment made after January 1, 2027 can defer tax on the reinvested gain for five years; earn a 10% increase in basis after five years — or 30% for investments through a qualified rural opportunity fund — and, after a hold of at least ten years, elect a fair-market-value basis on the appreciation, subject to a 30-year statutory cap.
Governors may nominate up to 25% of their state’s eligible tracts. Because the designation is location-based, the value of the incentive to any given project depends entirely on whether the project sits within a designated zone — which is exactly what the current nomination process will determine.
Why It Matters for Texas
Texas is one of the most active states for development and relocation, and Opportunity Zone designations can materially affect the financing of real-estate and business projects in eligible communities. Because the new map will govern for a decade, the tracts Texas ultimately nominates carry long-term weight for where capital will flow.
The state has said it will weigh local support as a tract-selection factor — considering the incentives, rebates, and agreements a community offers within a tract. That favors tracts with local backing in the selection process, though it does not, by itself, give any individual project priority.
What Companies Should Do
Because Texas closed local submissions on June 26, 2026, the window to influence which tracts are nominated has passed; the appropriate present action is to monitor the state and Treasury for the official final list, then map candidate sites against it. Companies should also note the transition: new OZ 2.0 designations would run from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2036, while existing designations continue through December 31, 2028, creating an overlap rather than an abrupt end.
Because the benefits flow through qualified opportunity funds and depend on timing and holding periods, companies should coordinate investment structure and compliance analysis with qualified tax counsel once the map is confirmed.
How SSG Can Help
Site Selection Group helps companies and developers evaluate location-based incentives — including Opportunity Zones and the state and local programs that often stack with them — as part of site-selection and investment decisions. We assess how a location’s incentive profile affects project economics and help clients coordinate with the local organizations and agencies that administer these programs.
Program details verified against primary sources as of August 31, 2026. Program rules, application status, and administrative guidance can change; confirm current details with the administering agency before acting. This article is provided for general information and does not constitute tax or legal advice.
