Opportunity Zone - Wilmington Air Park

Benefits: Increased investment in economically distressed Ohio Opportunity Zones; Increased business and housing development in Ohio Opportunity Zones; Taxpayers reduce their individual income tax liability

The Ohio Opportunity Zone Tax Credit Program provides an incentive for Taxpayers to invest in projects in economically distressed areas known as “Ohio Opportunity Zones”. These Ohio Opportunity Zones are qualified opportunity zones in this state designated by the Federal Statute 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-1.  The Wilmington AirPark resides in an Opportunity Zone.

The Taxpayer invests cash in the Ohio Qualified Opportunity Fund (“Ohio QOF”), which in turn must invest that money in a Qualified Opportunity Zone property in Ohio. Once the money is invested in the Qualified Opportunity Zone property (“QOZ Property”), the Taxpayer is eligible for a non-refundable tax credit equal to 10% of the amount of its funds invested by the Ohio QOF in the QOZ Property. The Taxpayer may invest in multiple Ohio QOFs and may receive tax credits totaling up to $1 million dollars during the 2020-2021 biennium period.

The Ohio Opportunity Zone Tax Credit is applied to the individual income tax, as outlined in the Ohio Revised Code Section 5747.02. The tax credit may be claimed for the Taxpayer’s qualifying taxable year or the next consecutive taxable year. For the 2020-2021 biennium, a total of $50 million in tax credit allocation in available.

Taxpayer eligibility requirements:

• Be subject to the income tax levied under ORC Section 5747.02;
• Make an investment in an Ohio QOF;
• Ohio QOF invests all or a part the Taxpayer’s fund contribution in a QOZ Property in Ohio.

Ohio QOF eligibility requirements:

• Be designated as a “Qualified Opportunity Fund” as defined by the Federal government in 26 U.S.C. 1400Z-2;
• Hold 100% of its invested assets in a QOZ Property situation in an Ohio Opportunity Zone.

How to Apply

Taxpayers that have invested in an Ohio QOF must apply directly to the Ohio Development Services Agency ("Development") for the tax credit during the established application period, occurring in annually in January. The application will be available through Development’s application portal and must be filed electronically. Development will review the applications in the order they are received, issuing the tax credit certificate allocation until all eligible applications are funded OR the $50 million in tax credits allocated in the biennium is fully utilized – whichever comes first.