Wisconsin Dells, WisconsinSTR Bonus Depreciation Market Profile · #21 in the DepreciMax Top 50
The Midwest's waterpark capital — Wisconsin Dells STRs cluster around family-resort properties in the $400k–$550k range with 59% Diamond density. Wisconsin partially conforms to federal §168(k), so state-level savings are reduced but federal Year 1 deduction remains strong.
Median across active STR-suitable listings. 1,000+ short-term rentals in market.
Diamond Density
60%
Share of Wisconsin Dells STR listings that hit Diamond tier (≥24% bonus-eligible % of purchase price).
Bonus-Eligible %
24.5%
Median % of purchase price classifiable as 5-yr or 15-yr property under §168(k).
Federal Savings @ 37%
$41k
Median federal tax savings on a $450k purchase.
Wisconsin Dells at a glance
Rank: #21 of 50 (DepreciMax Top 50 · 2026)
Median Year-1 deduction: ~$110,128 on a $450k STR
Bonus-eligible %: 24.5% (market median, share of purchase price classifying as 5-year or 15-year property)
Diamond density: 60% of Wisconsin Dells STR listings hit ≥24% bonus-eligible % (national Diamond tier)
Gold-or-better density: 80% of listings hit ≥22%
Wisconsin state §168(k) conformity: Partial — full federal, reduced state benefit
Airbnb market depth: 1,000+ active short-term rental listings
Bonus depreciation (IRS §168(k)): a federal tax provision letting investors deduct 100% of qualifying property costs in the year the property is placed in service. For short-term rentals, the deductible portion is the 5-year (personal property) and 15-year (land improvements) components of the total purchase price. See what bonus depreciation is for short-term rentals for the full explainer.
Bonus-eligible %: a DepreciMax metric — the share of a property's purchase price that classifies as 5-year or 15-year property under §168(k), and is therefore 100% deductible in Year 1. Wisconsin Dells's market-median bonus-eligible % is 24.5% — meaning a typical $450k Wisconsin Dells STR generates ~$110k of Year-1 deduction.
The 7-day STR rule: to unlock the "STR loophole" — where bonus depreciation offsets W-2 and other ordinary income, not just passive rental income — the property must average a guest stay of 7 days or less and the owner must materially participate. See how to qualify for the STR loophole.
City of Wisconsin Dells requires state Tourist Rooming House license, city Conditional Use Permit, and $500 annual Overnight Lodging License; STRs must be owner's primary residence with a 180-day annual rental cap. Permit: Yes · Cap: Yes · Min stay: None · Owner-occ.: Yes. Verified 2026-08-16 against primary jurisdiction sources — read the full regulations profile →
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Wisconsin State Conformity — Partial
Wisconsin partially conforms to federal §168(k). Investors get the full federal Year 1 deduction; state-level treatment varies — some categories may require add-back or alternative depreciation. The federal benefit is unaffected.
Why Wisconsin Dells ranks #21 for STR bonus depreciation
Strongest Diamond-density STR profile in the Northeast — a third of Wisconsin Dells short-term rentals hit ≥24% bonus-eligible % of purchase price. Cabin and lake-house amenity stack drives the 15-year improvement basis; state conformity state conformity reduces state-level benefit slightly, but federal Year 1 deduction is among the strongest on the list.
What drives Wisconsin Dells's high bonus depreciation?
Wisconsin Dells STRs lean heavily on the amenity categories the IRS classifies as 15-year land improvements: hot tubs, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, pergolas, and lake docks — all 100% bonus-eligible in Year 1 under §168(k). That amenity density pushes market-median bonus-eligible % to 24.5%, second only to Lake Cumberland KY (26.9%).
Does Wisconsin conform to federal §168(k) bonus depreciation?
Only partially. Wisconsin allows federal bonus depreciation to flow through, but adds back a portion at the state level and spreads it over a longer recovery period. The federal Year-1 deduction is unaffected — this is still a strong federal market — but the state portion of the savings is smaller than in fully-conforming states. PA-resident investors should model the state-federal split with their CPA before purchase.
Common bonus-eligible amenities in Wisconsin Dells STRs
Prevalence of 15-year land improvements we typically see across Wisconsin Dells short-term rentals — all 100% bonus-eligible in Year 1 under IRS §168(k):
Private dock or boat slip
74%
Hot tub or spa
66%
Fire pit / fire feature
60%
Outdoor deck or wraparound porch
68%
Outdoor kitchen / BBQ area
34%
Boat lift or launch
28%
Wisconsin Dells, WI vs Lake Cumberland, KY vs Lake of the Ozarks, MO — bonus depreciation comparison
The three markets share a similar bonus-eligible % profile in the DepreciMax Top 50 — the differentiation is rank, price point, and state §168(k) conformity.
Wisconsin Dells bonus depreciation calculator (by zip code)
Wisconsin Dells spans 4 primary sub-markets with materially different STR economics. The calculator below has a zip dropdown — switch it to your area. The bonus-eligible percentage (Wisconsin Dells's market-typical 24.5%) stays constant across zips because it reflects the property type, not the location. state conformity — federal deduction is the primary benefit.
Wisconsin Dells zip code comparison
Zip
Sub-market
Land ratio
Typical price
Typical Year-1 deduction
53965
Wisconsin Dells (highest)
High
$449k
$115k
53913
Baraboo
Moderate
$395k
$101k
53950
Mauston
Moderate
$325k
$83k
53961
Reedsburg (lowest)
Low
$285k
$73k
Sample calculation: $450k Wisconsin Dells STR (median-priced Lake Harmony listing)
Purchase price: $449,500
Wisconsin Dells market median: 24.5% of purchase price classifies as bonus-eligible 5-yr + 15-yr property under §168(k)
Year-1 §168(k) deduction: $110k
Federal tax savings at 37% bracket: $64.1k
See IRS Publication 946 for §168(k) rules. Use the interactive calculator below to model your specific deal.
Looking for a deeper read on your specific property, not just the market median? Run the $99 Wisconsin Dells property report — our AI analyzes 7–9 listing photos against the IRS classification rules and returns a line-item §168(k) estimate closely calibrated to a formal $5K–$8K cost seg study.
Representative listings & deductions
Three live Wisconsin Dells listings spanning entry, mid, and high price tiers. Year 1 deduction is estimated as a range around the Wisconsin Dells market bonus-eligible average (24.5% ± 3 percentage points). Click any card to run a full property report to tighten to one exact number.
How to use this data to underwrite a Wisconsin Dells STR deal
The market-median numbers on this page are a screening tool, not a final answer. Here's how STR investors and their CPAs actually convert a market rank + median bonus-eligible % into an underwriting number for a specific offer.
Screen the deal against the market median. If a Wisconsin Dells listing is priced within the p25–p75 range ($512k–$1,010k) and looks like a typical cabin or lake-house STR, the market-median 24.5% bonus-eligible is a defensible screening estimate. That gives you a Year-1 deduction range you can plug into an initial underwriting model in about 60 seconds — before you invest CPA time or offer-drafting effort.
Adjust up or down based on amenity signals. Wisconsin Dells properties with a full outdoor stack (hot tub + fire pit + wraparound deck + outdoor kitchen + pergola) trend toward the Diamond tier at 24–30% bonus-eligible. Properties with minimal outdoor amenities — condos, indoor-only cabins, or properties without lake access — trend toward the Bronze tier at 18–20%. Use the amenity checklist to categorize before you commit.
Model the offer with the deduction baked in. Take the estimated Year-1 deduction × your federal marginal rate (typically 37% for high-earner STR investors) = federal tax savings. Add this to your effective Year-1 cash-on-cash return. On a $450k Wisconsin Dells STR at 24.5% bonus-eligible, that's ~$41k in federal savings — often 8–12% of purchase price flowing back into Year-1 cash. Wisconsin's partial conformity means state-level savings are minimal for PA residents, so pure-federal math dominates.
Verify with a $99 property-level report before you sign. Once you're past screening and preparing to make an offer, run the specific property through DepreciMax's photo-analysis pipeline. The $99 report tightens the estimate to a single number, line-items the 5-year / 15-year / 39-year breakdown, and delivers a calibrated Year-1 number closely calibrated to a formal cost segregation study's bonus-eligible %. Your CPA can build the return directly from this output; a formal engineered study (typically $5,000–$8,000) is only necessary post-closing for IRS-defensible filing on very large deductions or high-scrutiny audit risk.
Verified as of 2026-08-16 against primary jurisdiction sources. See the full Wisconsin Dells STR regulations page for jurisdiction breakdown, ordinance section numbers, and 5-question FAQ.
Verified as of 2026-08-16 against primary jurisdiction sources. See the full Wisconsin Dells STR regulations page for jurisdiction breakdown, ordinance section numbers, and 5-question FAQ.
Wisconsin Dells's #21 rank comes from the DepreciMax Top 50 methodology: we score every active STR-suitable listing across the nation's most-watched STR markets on land value, state §168(k) conformity, and amenity mix, then rank markets by the median bonus-eligible % of their active listings. Individual property estimates are closely calibrated to a formal cost segregation study.
Sample listings are real active for-sale listings — actual addresses shown. Bonus depreciation outcomes vary by individual property; this page estimates ranges for typical purchases. Not tax advice — consult your CPA before making investment decisions.
Score live Wisconsin Dells properties — for your specific deal
Run any active Wisconsin Dells listing through the DepreciMax property scorer. Free market search shows you every listing ranked by bonus depreciation potential. $99 per detailed AI report on a specific property — closely calibrated to a formal cost seg study.
