Skip to content

CHAPTER 1— NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES›Subchapter U— Designation and Treatment of Empowerment Zones, Enterprise Communities, and Rural Development Investment Areas›PART I— DESIGNATION

§ 1393. Definitions and special rules

26 U.S.C. Subtitle A — Income Taxes (Internal Revenue Code) · 2026 edition · updated 2026-10-03 · United States

(a) In general

For purposes of this subchapter—

(1) Appropriate Secretary

The term “appropriate Secretary” means—

(A) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the case of any nominated area which is located in an urban area, and

(B) the Secretary of Agriculture in the case of any nominated area which is located in a rural area.

(2) Rural area

The term “rural area” means any area which is—

(A) outside of a metropolitan statistical area (within the meaning of section 143(k)(2)(B)), or

(B) determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, to be a rural area.

(3) Urban area

The term “urban area” means an area which is not a rural area.

(4) Special rules for Indian reservations

(A) In general

No empowerment zone or enterprise community may include any area within an Indian reservation.

(B) Indian reservation defined

The term “Indian reservation” has the meaning given such term by section 168(j)(6).

(5) Local government

The term “local government” means—

(A) any county, city, town, township, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State, and

(B) any combination of political subdivisions described in subparagraph (A) recognized by the appropriate Secretary.

(6) Nominated area

The term “nominated area” means an area which is nominated by 1 or more local governments and the State or States in which it is located for designation under section 1391.

(7) Governments

If more than 1 State or local government seeks to nominate an area under this part, any reference to, or requirement of, this subchapter shall apply to all such governments.

(8) Special rule

An area shall be treated as nominated by a State and a local government if it is nominated by an economic development corporation chartered by the State.

(9) Use of census data

Population and poverty rate shall be determined by the most recent decennial census data available.

(b) Empowerment zone; enterprise community

For purposes of this title, the terms “empowerment zone” and “enterprise community” mean areas designated as such under section 1391.

(Added Pub. L. 103–66, title XIII, § 13301(a), Aug. 10, 1993, 107 Stat. 547.)

Get a plain-English answer with a citation back to this text.

Ask AI about this code
▸Contents — 26 U.S.C. Subtitle A — Income Taxes (Internal Revenue Code)

GoCodebook provides public access, search, citation, multilingual explanation, and practical interpretation of legally adopted building regulations. It is not a substitute for the official ICC or California code publications.