If an investor is interested in taking advantage of the tax benefits associated with Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOF) (See Tax Benefits for Investors in Qualified Opportunity Funds)
Any type of capital gain may be invested in a QOF, including, real estate, stock, cryptocurrency, artwork, etc. Typically, real estate requires like-kind for like-kind exchanges, however, QOFs allow for non-like-kind investments. This is a great opportunity for an individual who has been interested in investing in real estate, but in the past has been unable to transfer capital gains from a non-like-kind asset, such as stocks. Now is a great time for an investor to transfer capital gains into real estate assets by investing in a QOF.
Also, in contrast to 1031 exchanges, the capital gain may be segregated from the base when investing in QOFs. For example, if an investor purchased a property for $100,000 and later sold the property for $150,000, the investor may choose to retain the $100,000 base and invest the $50,000 in a QOF to receive tax benefits on the capital gains.
Once an investor sells an asset, the capital gains must be invested in a QOF within 180 in order to qualify for the tax benefits. Also, the investor must make an election on its income tax return in order to defer paying the tax on capital gains.