United States Treasury Certifies Two Opportunity Zones in San Rafael

The United States Treasury has certified two San Rafael census tracts for the federal Opportunity Zone (OZ) 2.0 program, specifically census tract 6041112202 in Southeast San Rafael and 604111001 in Downtown San Rafael. Economic development investments in these census tracts are now eligible for preferential federal tax treatment for a ten-year period starting on January 1, 2027. An interactive map of OZ 2.0 eligible census tracts in California is available here.

Background

Congress established the initial Opportunity Zone (OZ 1.0) Program under the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage the reinvestment of capital gains into economically distressed communities. The program offers preferential federal tax treatment for capital gains invested in qualified projects located within designated low-income census tracts. Eligible investments may include new real estate construction, rehabilitation of vacant or underutilized properties, equity investments in operating businesses, and infrastructure or energy-related projects, among others.

OZ 1.0 was scheduled to sunset December 31, 2026, however, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" of 2025 made the OZ program permanent (OZ 2.0). Under OZ 2.0, the U.S. Department of the Treasury certifies which census tracts qualify as OZs for the next ten years based on nominations made by governors made by September 30, 2026.

Following community engagement in the spring of 2026, on July 20, 2026, the San Rafael City Council adopted Resolution No. 15601, which recommended submitting five San Rafael census tracts for nomination by the Governor for the OZ 2.0 program. Resolution No. 15601 ranked census tract 6041112202 in Southeast San Rafael and 604111001 in Downtown San Rafael as the City's top two priorities. The U.S. Treasury has now certified these top ranked census tracts for the OZ 2.0 program for the next decade.