Description: A HUBZone is a geographical location identified and designated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as an area that is and has been historically underutilized by businesses. SBA uses information and data from multiple federal sources to determine HUBZone designated status. Such federal agencies include the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Defense, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Census Bureau. The way SBA uses this data to determine HUBZone areas is established by law. The agency does not have the authority to decide, without supporting data that a particular area should or should not be a designated HUBZone. This is an important distinction.The HUBZone program was established by the authority 15 U.S.C. 632(a), as amended in the Small Business Act. Regulations governing the HUBZone program are located in 13 CFR Parts 126.100 to 126.900.There are four types of HUBZone designations. They are: qualified census tract; qualified nonmetropolitan county; qualified Indian reservation; and, qualified base closure area. Qualified Census Tract (QCT): A census tract is a statistical subdivision of counties that may include a few neighborhoods in a city or, in rural areas, may include several towns. Tracts generally have populations that range in size between 1,200 and 8,000 people.The Department of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for designating Qualified Census Tracts or QCTs for purposes of the statutorily established Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. To qualify under this program, a census tract must either: demonstrate a poverty rate of at least 25 percent; or 50 percent or more of its householders must have incomes below 60 percent of the area median household income. It is important to note, the Low Income Tax Credit program, which is driven by statute, imposes limits on the number of census tracts an area can have. As such, it is possible for a tract to meet one or both of the above criteria, but not be designated as a QCT.Qualified Nonmetropolitan County (QNMC): Only counties in nonmetropolitan areas may be eligible for HUBZone designated status. In order for a nonmetropolitan county to qualify: the median household income in the county must be less than 80% of the nonmetropolitan state median household income, or the unemployment rate in the county must be at least 140% of either the national or state unemployment rate, or the county is classified as a Difficult Development Area, as designated by HUD within Alaska, Hawaii, or any territory or possession of the United States, outside of the 48 contiguous states.Qualified Indian Reservation: Indian lands in areas within the boundaries of an Indian reservation may qualify as a HUBZone area. Trust lands acquired by an Indian reservation or tribe after December 21, 2000, do not qualify as HUBZones, unless they are part of a former Reservation, or they are contiguous to areas that were trust lands prior to December 21, 2000. Qualified Base Closure (QBC): Certain base closure areas may qualify as HUBZone designated areas. A base closure area is defined as the lands within the boundaries of a military installation that was closed. Such an area can be designated as a HUBZone for a period of 5 years, beginning on the official date of the base closure and ending the same date, five years later.HUBZone designations are not static. They change based on a variety of data. Indian lands and base closure areas can change frequently or as necessary. Nonmetropolitan counties are reviewed and can change multiple times a year. Census tracts are updated every five years, when HUD releases a notice to that effect in the federal register. Redesignated Area: Tracts or counties are redesignated for three years after the date which the tract or county ceases to be qualified due to changes in income, unemployment, or poverty data. When a tract or county is redesignated, its status in the HUBZone maps reflects the sunset date of the redesignation. A redesignated area qualifies for a limited time as a HUBZone area. This is an important distinctionSource: U.S. Small Business Administration (2014). Understanding HUBZone Designations. Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/hubzone_workbook.pdfHUBZone Program QualificationsTo qualify for the HUBZone program, the business must: Be a small business according to SBA size standards; Be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a Community Development Corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaska Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe; Have its principal office located in a HUBZone*; Have at least 35% of its employees living in a HUBZone*; You can find the full qualification criteria in Title 13 Part 126 Subpart B of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-126HUBZone Map and Change ScheduleThe HUBZone map changed on July 1, 2023. Check the new HUBZone map now to determine whether your principal office and employees are located in a HUBZone. Your firm’s eligibility to participate in the program might be impacted if your principal office is located, or your employees reside, in an area that no longer qualifies as a HUBZone.Every five years the HUBZone program is required to update the HUBZone designations to ensure the program continues to serve the communities that are most in need of assistance. Most areas stay the same but some change. The 2023 map will be updated again in July 2028 to reflect changes to Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) and Qualified Non-Metropolitan Counties (QNMCs), in 2026 to reflect expiring Redesignated Areas, and throughout any year to reflect new and expiring Governor-designated covered areas and Qualified Disaster Areas as appropriate.Source: U.S. Small Business Administration (2023). HUBZone Program. Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/hubzone-program
Copyright Text: Prince William County Department of Information Technology (DoIT), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Division
Description: QOZ: "DESIGNATEDQOZ" = List of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs). This variable was updated June 14, 2018, to reflect the final QOZ designations for all States. A total of 8762 population census tracts were designated. See IRS Notice 2018-48, 2018–28 Internal Revenue Bulletin 9, July 9, 2018, for the official list of all population census tracts designated as QOZs for purposes of §§ 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2 of the Code.TYPE=Lists by State of all population census tracts eligible for designation as a QOZ. A "LIC" is a Low-Income Community census tract. A "contiguous" tract refers to Eligible Non-LIC Contiguous Tracts. A total of 31,848 LICs and 10,312 Non-LIC Contiguous Tracts were potentially eligible for QOZ designation."An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. Localities qualify as Opportunity Zones if they have been nominated for that designation by the state and that nomination has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury via his delegation authority to the Internal Revenue Service. Opportunity Zones were added to the tax code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 22, 2017."Source: Opportunity Zones Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones-frequently-asked-questions"The U.S. Department of Treasury has officially designated 212 Qualified Opportunity Zones in the state of Virginia as part of the Opportunity Zone and Opportunity Fund, a provision for a new revitalization tool by the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Zones and Funds will allow investors to receive tax benefits on currently unrealized capital gains by investing those gains in qualified low-income census tracts (Opportunity Zones). Governor Northam submitted 212 nominations out of the 901 eligible low-income census tracts in the Commonwealth to the Treasury Department in April 2018, which represented the maximum number of zones available to nominate.Source: PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY DESIGNATED OPPORTUNITY ZONES. http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/planning/Pages/OpportunityZones.aspx
Copyright Text: Prince William County Department of Information Technology (DoIT), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Division