All tools Checked August 26, 2026

Tax calculator

Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) Calculator

What may the short tax delay and the ten-year rule be worth?

Estimate the value of a short tax delay and a possible tax break after ten years.

Before you calculate

Which best describes you?

Choose the path that fits. It changes the guidance around the result, not the calculation.

For myself or my familySee the result through your own planning decisions.For a clientUse the tool to prepare a client conversation.

How to use it

Start with the numbers you know.

Estimates are okay. Nothing is submitted when you calculate.

What this calculator estimates

Estimate the value of a short tax delay and a possible tax break after ten years.

Question-mark icons explain less-obvious terms. Hover, focus, or tap them for plain-English help.

Investment

Gain put into an older Opportunity Zone fund

The fund is often called a Qualified Opportunity Fund, or QOF.

Short tax delay

Months until the original gain becomes taxable

months

Tax rate on the original gain

Yearly value of waiting to pay the tax

Fund estimate

Years the fund is held

years

Expected yearly fund return before fees

Yearly fund fees

Tax rate on later fund growth if no exclusion

Start with the decision

What may the short tax delay and the ten-year rule be worth?

Legacy Qualified Opportunity Fund planning has two distinct tax questions: when the original deferred gain becomes taxable and whether post-investment appreciation may qualify for a basis election after a sufficiently long holding period. Older five- and seven-year basis step-up claims are not presented as available for a new 2026 investment.

Before you act on the number

See what the result means—and what could change it.

How to read it

Separate the original gain from QOF appreciation; they do not receive the same timing or basis treatment.
A 10-year illustration is not an assurance that a specific investment or exit qualifies for the basis election.
The tax benefit should be compared with fees, leverage, liquidity, diversification, project risk, and the return available from alternatives.

What could change the answer

A legal determination that a gain, taxpayer, fund, property, or trade or business qualifies
The permanent Qualified Opportunity Zone regime enacted for later investments or transition rules not reflected in the legacy model
Fund-level leverage, depreciation, operating cash flow, state conformity, or partnership allocations
Investment due diligence, valuation, fees, liquidity, exit availability, or securities-law review

What to take forward

Use the result to identify which assumption needs verification, then bring that question to the professional helping you make the decision.

Transparent method

How the estimate works

See how the estimate is calculated

Model the original eligible gain and the current federal and state tax that may be deferred only until the applicable inclusion event, generally no later than December 31, 2026 for the legacy regime.

Project the QOF investment’s value over the entered holding period and separate original deferred gain from new appreciation inside the fund.

Illustrate the potential tax on post-investment appreciation with and without a qualifying ten-year basis election, while keeping investment return assumptions visible.

Illustrative example · not a client case

Investing a gain late in the legacy window

A taxpayer invests a $1 million eligible gain in a QOF during 2026. The original gain may still be included for 2026 under the legacy date rule, so the near-term deferral can be short. If the QOF investment is held long enough and every requirement is met, later fund appreciation may receive different treatment—but fees, risk, liquidity, and project quality remain central.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

When is the original deferred QOF gain recognized?

Under the legacy rules modeled here, the deferred gain is generally included at an earlier inclusion event or by December 31, 2026. The calculator displays the IRS source for that date.

Does a 2026 QOF investment receive the old 10% or 15% basis step-up?

The historical five- and seven-year holding periods cannot generally be completed before the legacy December 31, 2026 inclusion date, so this calculator does not count those old step-ups for a new 2026 investment.

What is the 10-year opportunity-zone benefit?

A qualifying investment held for at least ten years may be eligible for a basis election affecting post-investment appreciation. Detailed fund, asset, timing, and election requirements still apply.

Is a QOF attractive solely because of the tax treatment?

No. A tax benefit cannot rescue a weak investment. Underwriting, fees, leverage, diversification, cash flow, exit risk, sponsor quality, and state tax treatment should be evaluated independently.

Sources

Rules and references behind this calculator

See every published value

Legacy QOF deferred-gain inclusion dateDecember 31, 2026Effective 2026-01-01 · checked 2026-08-26IRS Qualified Opportunity Fund guidance

Want the fine print? See sources, methods, and limits.

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