About OZPros

For OZ Investors: 

• Strategy Call:
  Investors interested in making an OZ investment, typically have questions about how best to structure their investment, what to look for in an investment, timing, maximizing their tax benefits, etc. We answer these questions during a strategy call.  Schedule Your Strategy Call.

For OZ Projects / Funds: 

• Strategy Call:
  Entrepreneurs, fund managers and real estate professionals interested in forming a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) or Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB), often learn about options and develop a plan of action via a strategy call. Schedule Your Strategy Call
• DIY Package:
  For those who wish complete the formation and certification process on their own more affordably, OZPros offers a DIY Package. Order Your DIY Package.
• ‘Done For You’ Package:
  For those who want an experienced Opportunity Zone attorney to form your entity, draft articles of incorporation and operating agreements, complete the compliance paperwork, and provide ongoing compliance services to the fund OZPros offers a ‘Done For You’ package. Order Your ‘Done For You’ Package.

Any partnership or corporation can self-certify as a Qualified Opportunity Fund by filing IRS Form 8996 annually with its federal tax return. Each proposed Opportunity Fund must identify and commit their investments to specific community benefit outcomes. A key element in this process is to be able to have a robust audit trail to support the fund’s certification in the event of an IRS challenge. For this reason, it is essential that your qualified opportunity zone fund’s documentation be prepared properly at the outset. OZPros can help advise your fund on opportunity zone fund certification or structure the paperwork for you.

We can deliver your organizing documents within 2 business days for a simple fund. More complex structures may take longer. Contact us for more information.

Most investors make their Qualified Opportunity Zone investments via private placement in syndicated Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund offerings. They learn about these private placement funds through OZ project databases, through consultations with advisors such as OZPros, or via their broker-dealer, and after due diligence, sign a subscription agreement and fund their OZ investment.

However, there exist a wide array of types of Qualified Opportunity Zone funds, each with varying tax, oversight, and control, advantages and disadvantages.  Additionally, some investors choose to establish their own Qualified Opportunity Zone fund and entirely fund the project themselves or in collaboration with a small group of other investors.

No. That said, most of the syndicated Qualified Opportunity Fund offerings are performed via SEC Regulation D, Rule 506(c), which requires that all investors be accredited. But non-accredited investors can participate in a direct placement deal by creating their own Qualified Opportunity Fund.

No, an investor can invest in a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB) only through a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) in order to qualify for associated tax incentives.

Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) can invest in any Qualified Opportunity Zone Property (QOZP), including stocks, partnership interest or business property (so long as property use commences with the fund, or if the fund makes significant improvements to the qualifying property). The typical best practices structure is for the QOF to own a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB), which owns Qualified Opportunity Zone Business Property (QOZBP). See the below answer for additional information.

No, but the best practice will be to have an underlying Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (QOZB) entity in order to take advantage of the 70% asset test at the QOZB level, as opposed to the 90% asset test at the QOF level.

File in either your home state or Delaware if you are going to be raising a significant amount of money. South Carolina is a great option as well because they do not have any annual filing fees.

Typically, the QOF should be an LLC. Most QOFs will want passthrough tax status and not be burdened with double taxation on distributions. For funds that invest in operating business (as opposed to real estate), it often times is beneficial to set up the fund’s underlying QOZB entity as a C-Corp to obtain a tax arbitrage benefit.

Absolutely not. Instead of thinking, “How long do I have to hold this?” you should be thinking, “How long can I hold this?” The IRS has basically created what we have termed the OZ Self-Directed Super Roth IRA™ with the Opportunity Zone incentive. You get to invest with tax-advantaged dollars. The appreciation on the new investment grows tax-free, and (if held for 10+years) the money comes out tax-free as well. Tax-free compounding is the eighth wonder of the world, as it is a significant wealth creation opportunity. Investors should be figuring out how they can keep their investments inside of such tax-advantaged vehicles for as long as possible.

Typically, investors seeking to make a Qualified Opportunity Zone investment do not hire an attorney to make their investment, but instead often schedule a strategy call to better understand their options, potential pitfalls, and whether their unique situation merits hiring an attorney.

By contrast, if you are forming an Opportunity Zone Fund or Qualified Opportunity Zone Business, there are a number of SEC and IRS regulations that must be properly complied with, which are sufficiently complex that an attorney is often recommended. While you can navigate this process without an experienced Opportunity Zone attorney, given the importance of maintaining certification to preserve the tax benefits of the OZ investment, most Opportunity Zone funds and projects elect to hire an experienced lawyer to form their fund and help maintain compliance.

For those forming a QOF or QOZB, OZPros offers both a DIY Package, so that individuals can complete the formation and certification process on their own more affordably. Or a ‘Done For You’ Package, wherein an experienced Opportunity Zone attorney will form your entity, complete the compliance paperwork, and provide ongoing compliance services to the fund.