Form 8997: Reporting Investments in a Qualified Opportunity Fund
Published November 8, 2026
Form 8997 is the statement an investor files each year to report an investment in a qualified opportunity fund, called a QOF. It reports gain that the investor deferred by investing in a QOF. It also reports events that bring deferred gain back into taxable income.
This post is general information from the 2025 Form 8997. It does not say whether an investor has gain to defer, and it does not give tax advice for a particular case.
Who attaches the form
The form says to attach it to the return that the investor files. The list on the form includes Form 1040, 1040-SR, 1040-NR, 1041, 1065, 1120, 1120-F, 1120-REIT, 1120-RIC, 1120-S, and 990-T. The form number and the return to attach it to depend on the filer.
Part I: holdings from earlier years
Part I lists the QOF investments the investor held before the start of the tax year. For each investment, the form asks for the QOF's name and EIN, the date acquired, a description of the investment, and the amount of deferred gain left in the QOF. The gain is split between short-term and long-term amounts.
If the total differs from last year's ending amount, the form says to attach an explanation.
Part II: gain invested this year
Part II lists gain the investor deferred by investing in a QOF during the current tax year. The columns match Part I. The totals come from the short-term and long-term columns. The instructions say how to report these amounts on Form 8949.
For a refresher on Form 8949, see Form 8949: Check Boxes and Columns Explained.
Part III: events that include gain
Part III reports inclusion events and certain other transfers during the year. The form gives examples, such as a sale of part of an interest, a gift of part of an interest, or a distribution. For each event, it asks for the date and the amount of previously deferred gain now included in income.
The form has a box for an investor who disposed of an investment and did not get a Form 1099-B from the QOF or another third party. Check the instructions for that case. The form asks the filer to report the disposal on the proper lines.
Foreign eligible taxpayers
The form has a separate section for a foreign eligible taxpayer. A foreign eligible taxpayer that defers gain must answer whether it waives treaty benefits. The form says a foreign eligible taxpayer may not elect to defer tax on an eligible gain unless it answers yes to the waiver question. Read the instructions before you answer this question.
Records to keep
- The date you invested in each QOF and the QOF's EIN.
- The amount of deferred gain, split between short-term and long-term.
- Any event that may bring deferred gain back into income.
- Any Form 1099-B you receive for a disposal, and the date of each disposal.
The fund itself files a different form. For the fund side, see Form 8996: Qualified Opportunity Fund Test and Penalty.
For another capital gain form, see Form 2439: Long-Term Capital Gains a Fund Kept and Taxed for You.
How the parts connect
Part I is the starting point for the year. Part II adds new deferrals made during the year. Part III removes amounts from the fund when an inclusion event happens. A record that ties all three parts together helps the investor explain each change from one year to the next.
Why dates and EINs matter
The form asks for the QOF's EIN and the date each investment was acquired, so each line can be traced to one investment. Keep the subscription documents, the statements from the fund, and any notice of a disposal with your tax records.
Sources: Sources: IRS, Form 8997, Initial and Annual Statement of Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) Investments (2025) (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8997.pdf) This is general information, not advice about your specific return.
More guides on: Investments, interest and capital gains
