EXIM, 48D, and OZ Deadlines Hit December 31

On December 31, 2026, three separate federal authorities expire or reset at once, and as of September 16, 2026, Congress has enacted none of the fixes that would move them. The Export-Import Bank's (EXIM) charter lapses unless Congress acts. The 35% Section 48D semiconductor credit closes to any project that has not begun construction. The original Opportunity Zone (OZ) benefit regime hands off to OZ 2.0. Each deadline carries a different consequence, and 15 weeks remain.

As of this alert, the Senate's 10-year EXIM reauthorization bill, S. 3772, has sat in the Banking Committee since its February 4, 2026 introduction, and the House discussion draft has not been marked up. No Section 48D extension has been enacted. The House-passed continuing resolution funds the government only through December 11, which we expect to be the lame-duck vehicle for any of these fixes. Treasury's OZ 2.0 nomination window closes September 29, with a 30-day extension available to October 28 and final designations due before January 1, 2027.

The three deadlines share a date and little else. EXIM's is a lapse in legal authority that Congress can cure by amending the statute's sunset date. Section 48D's is a statutory cutoff fixed in law. The OZ date is a scheduled hand-off between two versions of the same program. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2026, the biennial water bill, is also queued for the same year-end window. Exhibit 1 lists the key dates, and the sections below take each deadline in turn.

Deadline 1: EXIM's Charter Expires December 31, 2026

A charter lapse stops new business and leaves existing commitments in place. Congress last reauthorized EXIM on December 20, 2019, extending its charter seven years through December 31, 2026 (P.L. 116-94, Div. I) with a $135 billion exposure cap. EXIM's own charter page confirms that the 2019 extension "extends EXIM's authority to conduct new business through December 31, 2026." If the charter lapses, the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 permits the Bank to service outstanding obligations and conduct an orderly liquidation, but not to approve new transactions. The charter last lapsed on July 1, 2015, and new approvals froze for five months until the FAST Act restored authority on December 4, 2015. A board-quorum gap then blocked transactions over $10 million until May 2019. The Bank is still moving large deals. It published Federal Register notices for three long-term applications above $100 million in August alone, and signed $280 million in financing for CesiumAstro's Texas facility on September 9.

Both chambers held hearings this spring, but neither has marked up a bill. EXIM President and Chairman John Jovanovic testified at the House Financial Services Committee's March 18, 2026 subcommittee hearing, "Oversight of the Export-Import Bank," asking for a 10-year reauthorization of the Bank and CTEP, restored risk-management practices, and hiring flexibility. He noted that EXIM has returned nearly $10 billion to Treasury and that nearly 90% of its transactions directly benefit small business exporters. He said the Bank's active pipeline exceeds $71 billion and is expected to support more than 45,000 U.S. jobs. The Senate Banking Committee held its own reauthorization hearing on March 26, 2026. Since then, neither committee's calendar has listed EXIM business, and the Bank's summer press releases have focused on new deals and a return to profitability. None has addressed the charter.

The Senate bill and the House draft both reauthorize EXIM but differ on length and on nuclear energy. S. 3772, the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2026, introduced by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) as cosponsor, strikes "2026" and inserts "2036" in Section 7 of the 1945 Act and in the CTEP sunset, and moves the exposure-cap date in Section 6(a)(2) from 2027 to 2037. Its sponsors call it the longest reauthorization of the Bank in history. The House discussion draft released for the March 18 hearing inserts "2031" in the same three places and adds the words "and nuclear" after "renewable" in Section 2(l)(1)(B)(vi), bringing nuclear energy exports inside CTEP. A five-year versus ten-year split is the kind of difference a year-end package resolves in conference, but only if leadership attaches EXIM to a vehicle that moves. The House-passed continuing resolution, H.R. 6500, expires December 11, which we expect to make the December funding bill the likely carrier. Exhibit 2 compares the two vehicles.

Deadline 2: Section 48D's Construction Cutoff

Semiconductor and equipment projects must begin construction by December 31 to preserve the 35% credit. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) raised the Section 48D Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit from 25% to 35% for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, but left the statutory termination untouched: under Section 48D(e), "the credit allowed under this section shall not apply to property the construction of which begins after December 31, 2026." Treasury's final regulations (89 Fed. Reg. 84732, October 23, 2024) allow a start under either the physical work test (foundation excavation, concrete pours, or equipment fabrication under a binding written contract) or the 5% cost safe harbor. A project that validly starts in 2026 can place property in service up to 10 calendar years later under the continuity safe harbor. The credit is 35% of qualified investment, so $2 billion of qualified investment in a facility that begins construction in December 2026 earns a $700 million credit, and the same facility starting in January 2027 earns none.

Industry pressed for an extension this year, and nothing has been enacted. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) organized a multi-association letter to Congress this spring urging lawmakers to "extend and expand" the credit. SIA's investment tracker now counts more than $825 billion across 160-plus projects in 30 states. No extension bill has moved in either tax-writing committee, and a search of the Federal Register turns up no 2026 Treasury guidance touching Section 48D. Exhibit 3 summarizes the current rule.

Deadline 3: What Ends and What Continues for Opportunity Zones

Three things end on December 31, 2026. First, gains deferred into Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) under the original 2017 statute are recognized on that date: investors include the deferred gain in income in the taxable year that includes the earlier of an inclusion event or December 31, 2026, and owe the tax with their 2026 returns regardless of whether they sell. Second, it is the last day to invest eligible gains under the OZ 1.0 rules within the standard 180-day window. The 10-year gain exclusion still applies to those investments. Third, under IRS Notice 2026-40 (June 18, 2026), a business in an originally designated zone can generally treat tangible property acquired after 2026 as qualifying only if, by December 31, 2026, it has adopted a written working-capital plan, received at least 10% of the total estimated working capital designated under that plan, and expended at least 5% of it. The plan must carry a written schedule consistent with an ordinary start-up and spend the assets within 31 months of receipt. The only other route is property acquired to replace or modernize existing tangible business property in the ordinary course of the business. Property acquired to expand a business does not qualify.

The zones themselves do not end on December 31, 2026. Per Rev. Proc. 2026-14, tracts designated under Rev. Proc. 2018-16 stay designated through December 31, 2028. That covers the 8,764 original designations (Puerto Rico's end December 31, 2027). Meanwhile, OZ 2.0 arrives January 1, 2027. Treasury opened the state nomination window on July 1, 2026 for a 90-day determination period that runs through September 29, with a single 30-day extension available to October 28. The Secretary then has up to 30 days per submission, extendable to December 28, 2026, to certify designations. Per IR-2026-45, governors chose from 25,332 eligible low-income tracts, 8,334 of them wholly rural, and the new designations run through December 31, 2036, with fresh rounds every 10 years. Post-2026 investments earn a rolling five-year deferral and a 10% basis step-up, 30% for qualified rural opportunity funds.

The IRS has proposed OZ 2.0 reporting and certification rules. On September 11, 2026, the IRS published proposed regulations implementing new information-reporting sections 6039K and 6039L, added by the OBBBA: annual QOF returns, investor statements on disposition, qualified opportunity zone business (QOZB) statements to the funds that hold them, penalties for failures to file, and updated self-certification, revocation, and voluntary decertification procedures. Comments are due October 16, 2026, and a telephonic hearing is set for November 5. Exhibit 4 summarizes what ends and what continues on December 31.

Also Pending: WRDA 2026

WRDA 2026 has cleared House committee and awaits floor action. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released its WRDA 2026 text on June 26, 2026, introduced it as H.R. 9497 on June 29, and approved it unanimously on July 14, authorizing 133 new feasibility studies and 14 construction-ready projects. The committee filed its report (H. Rept. 119-795) on September 3, 2026, and the bill now awaits floor time. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee began with a February 25, 2026 hearing with Assistant Secretary Adam Telle and Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. William Graham, and has not yet reported a companion. Congress has enacted a WRDA every two years since 2014. Exhibit 5 collects the remaining dates.

What to Do Now

This alert is for exporters with deals in EXIM's queue, semiconductor and equipment sponsors that have not yet begun construction, and investors and businesses holding OZ 1.0 positions. All three authorities reset on December 31, 2026, and we expect the December 11 expiration of the continuing resolution to be the vehicle for any fix Congress does pass. If you want a read on fit before December 31, reach out to our team.

References

1. EXIM, "EXIM Chairman Testifies Before House Financial Services Committee on Reauthorization" (March 19, 2026).
2. EXIM, Charter and Bylaws (Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended; P.L. 116-94, Div. I).
3. EXIM, News Releases, including "EXIM Announces Return to Profitability" (July 31, 2026).
4. CRS, "Export-Import Bank: Overview and Reauthorization Debate" (IF10017); CRS, "Export-Import Bank of the United States: Overview and Reauthorization Issues" (R43581).
5. S. 3772, Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2026, 119th Congress (introduced February 4, 2026); House Financial Services Committee discussion draft (March 18, 2026).
6. House Financial Services Committee, Hearing: "Oversight of the Export-Import Bank" (March 18, 2026); Senate Banking Committee, Hearing: "Export-Import Bank Reauthorization" (March 26, 2026).
7. 26 U.S.C. § 48D; Treasury and IRS, Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit Rules Under Sections 48D and 50, 89 Fed. Reg. 84732 (October 23, 2024).
8. Semiconductor Industry Association, Multiassociation Sign-On Letter to Extend/Expand the AMIC (48D) (May 2026); SIA, Semiconductor Supply Chain Investments (updated September 9, 2026).
9. IRS, IR-2026-45, "Treasury, IRS provide guidance to States for nominating census tracts as qualified opportunity zones" (April 6, 2026); Rev. Proc. 2026-14.
10. IRS, Notice 2026-40 (June 18, 2026); KPMG, TaxNewsFlash summary.
11. Treasury and IRS, Information Reporting Regarding Qualified Opportunity Zones and Updated Qualified Opportunity Fund Certification and Decertification Procedures, proposed rule (September 11, 2026).
12. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, WRDA 2026; "Committee Approves Bipartisan Water Resources Development Act" (July 14, 2026); H.R. 9497 and H. Rept. 119-795 (September 3, 2026).
13. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Hearing on the Water Resources Development Act of 2026 (February 25, 2026).
14. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, "Graves Statement on Passage of Government Funding Bill" (September 1, 2026).

© Copyright 2026 TC Policy Group, LLC (d/b/a Crawford Partners). The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Crawford Partners, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals. Crawford Partners is not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice.