Details of Public Law 116-260, section 118 , Empowerment Zone Tax Incentives

The provision modifies and extends the tax incentives to:

Extend the period for which an empowerment zone is in effect through 12/31/2025,

Eliminate the enhanced IRC section 179 expensing for any property placed in service after 12/31/2020,

Eliminate the election to defer gain for the sales of qualified empowerment zone assets for sales in taxable years beginning after 12/31/2020, and

Allow an extension of the termination date of an empowerment zone with a 12/31/2020 termination date.

California does not conform to empowerment zone tax incentives.

However, California allows a New Employment Tax Credit. This credit is for qualified employers that:

Hire qualified full-time employees,

Receive a reservation for such employees,

Pay wages for work performed by such employees in a designated geographic area (DGA), and

Report the credit on a timely filed (including extensions) original return.

FTB provides a searchable database on its website that includes the following information:

Employer names,

Amount of tax credit claimed,

Number of new jobs created for each taxable year.