There's a bleak deadline quickly approaching for the tax conscious. Qualified opportunity zones have been a tactical maneuver to defer capital gains for investments and see some step-up in basis to reduce taxes. But that ends come December 31, 2021. Starting January first, those tax advantages disappear. That seems to be nudging some last-minute investing.

QOZs were part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs law, which times out on December 31, 2026. Before then, taking capital gains and investing them into a QOZ has offered two tax benefits. One is tax deferral through 2026, unless there's a disposition of the investment first. That allows the investor to make additional money from the tax payment during the deferral.

The other part of the program has been tax reduction. There is a basis step-up in tax treatment depending on the length of time the investment was held. If for five years, that would be 10%. Holding for seven years would add another 5% step-up, but that additional timing is no longer available as there isn't enough time between 2021 and 2026.