Defer the Tax on Your Big Gain: QOZ 2.0, Explained
Date & Time: Thursday, October 14th | 12PM - 1PM EDT
A founder who sells a company held for two decades hands the federal government up to 23.8% of the gain: 20% long-term capital gains plus the 3.8% net investment income tax, before the state takes its share. On a $5 million sale that is $1,190,000, due the following April.
In July 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made Opportunity Zones permanent and rewrote the mechanics. Deferral now runs on a rolling five-year clock, basis steps up 10% of the deferred gain at year five, and 30% for a qualified rural fund. Most sellers hear about any of this from their CPA in the week the wire clears, with the 180-day window already running.
The arithmetic is the whole argument. Pay now on a $5 million gain and $3,810,000 goes back to work in April 2027. Defer into a Qualified Opportunity Fund and nothing is due now, the taxable amount in 2032 is $4,500,000 rather than $5 million, and the full $5 million compounds in the meantime. Hold ten years and the appreciation on top comes out free of federal tax. State treatment varies.
Timing decides more of the outcome than fund selection does. A gain realized in October and a gain realized in January sit on opposite sides of a tax year, and the 180-day window is unforgiving about the difference.
Join us for a conversation with the VANA Partners team on what QOZ 2.0 actually changed, how a Qualified Opportunity Fund differs from the 1031 and DST structures most sellers get pitched first, and how to tell a fund worth wiring into from one that exists to collect fees.
In this session, we'll cover:
What deferral is worth in dollars on a real $5 million gain, side by side with paying the tax in April
The five things the 2025 law changed, including the rolling deferral clock and the rural fund step-up at 30%
What a Qualified Opportunity Fund actually is, and how it differs from a 1031 exchange, a DST, and a REIT
The 180-day window and the December 31 line, and why a Q4 gain may be worth landing in January
How to separate a real fund from a bad one: sponsor backing, fee load, and what reporting a sponsor owes an LP
How the mechanics work in practice: minimums, accreditation, documents, and timeline from decision to funded
Open Q&A, nothing pre-screened
Speakers Include:
The Team
Dubi Ajukwu – VANA Partners
Chuchu Ajukwu – VANA Partners
The Interviewers
Paul Stanton – Thesis Driven
Register now to hear how QOZ 2.0 works for an owner sitting on a gain this year, and what the 180-day clock costs the people who find out about it late.
Can't attend live? Register anyway. Everyone who signs up gets the recording and a written summary the next morning.
Free · Educational only · No fund or security will be offered on this session.