The Working Families Tax Cuts, also known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted by President Donald J. Trump on July 4, 2025, permanently extended the federal Opportunity Zones program, created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017. Since its inception, the program has allowed for each state to nominate 25% of their eligible low-income community census tracts to be designated as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs), by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Starting on July 1, 2026, Puerto Rico, along with the rest of the country, may begin nominating 25% onation for the second round of QOZs that will remain in place for 10 years.f eligible census tracts for evaluation and desig

“The Opportunity Zones program, as permanently authorized by the OBBBA, provides an important tool to continue attracting long-term investment to communities in Puerto Rico with strong development potential. The nomination process allows us to strategically identify census tracts that can generate the greatest economic impact, support job creation, and promote sustainable growth. We encourage developers, investors, municipalities, and stakeholders to participate and submit their recommendations as we work to maximize this opportunity,” said Sebastián Negrón Reichard, Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DEDC).

The Opportunity Zones program is a tool for investment and development in economically distressed areas within the United States. Its purpose is to spur economic growth and job creation in low-income communities by providing certain tax benefits to investors. Additionally in Puerto Rico, Section 6070.54 of Act 60-2019 allows for companies operating as, or investing through, Qualified Opportunity Funds, a tax exemption decree offering an 18.5% fixed income tax rate, a 25% property and municipal license tax exemption, and a tax credit between 5% and 25% for eligible investments in residential, commercial or industrial real estate developments.

On September 11, 2025, DEDC announced the certification of $1.4 billion in eligible investments for priority projects in Opportunity Zones resulting in the creation of over 2,000 employment opportunities throughout 13 municipalities. On November 25, 2025, DDEC published Circular Letter No. 2025-019 establishing the guidelines for Agreed Upon Procedures reports for claiming the tax credits associated with eligible investments.

DEDC’s Office of Incentives for Businesses in Puerto Rico, together with the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), has been engaging in discussions with relevant federal agencies and gathering input from developers and investors in the private sector as part of the due diligence process to advise the Governor of Puerto Rico on the nomination of the next round of census tracts. We urge investors, developers and interested parties to review the list of eligible census tracts published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Revenue Procedure 2026-14 and to submit proposed census tracts for consideration as part of the pending nomination process. We strongly encourage all interested parties to submit their proposed census tracts via email at oppzones@ddec.pr.gov no later than May 30, 2026.

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