Opportunity Zone Benefit Look Back Period? Tax help?

[Jesse Smith]

I'm probably out of luck here, but I'll ask anyway.  On October 4, 2017, I sold $75,000 of stock ($11,500 capital gains) to invest in two local properties.  When the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act identified Qualified Opportunity Zones on Dec 22, 2017, these properties fall within one.  

I paid the capital gains tax on my 2017 tax return, but now I'm wondering if I can file an amendment and recoup the amount paid, since it went into a QOZ.  I know that the QOZ's were added to the tax code on Dec 22, 2017, but the FAQ from the IRS website gives an example that stock sold on Dec 15, 2017 could qualify.  Could stock sold on Oct 4, 2017 also qualify, since the QOZ's were added within the 180-day investment window?

Any CPA's have insight on this one?  

[Spencer Hogan]

@Jesse Smith The OZ program has various requirements necessary to qualify for the beneficial capital gains tax treatments. One of the requirements is that you need to rollover your capital gain into a qualified opportunity zone fund which in turn owns the opportunity zone property. You have 180 days following the sale of your stock to make the investment into the qualified opportunity zone fund. Another requirement is that you need to "substantially improve" the property by doubling your basis (excluding the basis of the land) through capital improvements within 30 months. For example, if your basis in the improvements was $10,000 at the time of purchase, you would need to invest another $10,000 towards capital improvements over 30 months to qualify. Unfortunately, you cannot simply invest your capital gains in property that is located in an opportunity zone and receive the capital gains tax benefits.