What is the typical bonus depreciation deduction on a Ellicottville short-term rental?

A $471,500 Ellicottville ski chalet STR typically generates about $120,233 in Year 1 bonus depreciation — roughly $44,486 in federal tax savings at a 37% bracket; state-level bonus depreciation is disallowed in New York, so the federal figure IS the effective savings. Ellicottville, NY ranks #14 in the DepreciMax Top 50 with a market-median bonus-eligible percentage of ~25.5% and a 75% Diamond density (share of Ellicottville STR listings that hit the Diamond tier, ≥24% bonus-eligible).

Does New York conform to federal bonus depreciation for Ellicottville STRs?

No — New York is decoupled from federal §168(k). Bonus depreciation is disallowed at the state level; investors add back the federal deduction and depreciate under regular MACRS on the New York return. The federal Year-1 benefit is still available (~$44,486 at a 37% bracket) and, for most high-earner STR investors, is the dominant number.

What amenities are most common in top-scoring Ellicottville STRs?

Common in Ellicottville rentals: hot tub or spa (~84%), fire pit / fire feature (~61%), outdoor deck or wraparound porch (~71%), heated mudroom / ski storage (~47%), outdoor kitchen / bbq area (~32%). All qualify as 100% bonus-eligible 15-year land improvements under IRS §168(k) and drive Ellicottville's 25.5% market-median bonus-eligible %.

How does Ellicottville compare to other peer STR markets in the DepreciMax Top 50?

Ellicottville's bonus-eligible % profile compares favorably against peer ski chalet markets in the DepreciMax Top 50. Direct comparables include Lake Cumberland, KY and Tannersville, NY. Rank differentiation is driven by median bonus-eligible %, price accessibility, and state §168(k) conformity — the three inputs that determine the absolute-dollar Year-1 deduction and how much of it flows through at the state level.

Is Year 1 bonus depreciation worth running on a $280k Ellicottville property?

At $280,000, the modeled Year 1 deduction is roughly $63,000–$79,800 — yielding $23k–$29k in federal tax savings at 37%. Even at the low end of the range, that's 200x+ the cost of a $99 DepreciMax report. Ellicottville's amenity mix means default cost seg approaches consistently under- or over-count the 15-year basis without property-specific photo analysis.

How is Ellicottville, NY's #14 rank in the DepreciMax Top 50 calculated?

The DepreciMax Top 50 methodology (2026) ranks STR markets by median bonus-eligible percentage of purchase price, filtered for markets with meaningful STR depth (≥100 active Airbnb listings) and layered with state §168(k) conformity. Ellicottville, NY ranks #14 because its market-median bonus-eligible percentage (25.5%) sits at that position in the national dataset. Diamond density (75% of Ellicottville STR listings hit the ≥24% bonus-eligible cutoff) confirms the ranking is driven by broad market strength, not a handful of outliers.

How much does a cost segregation study cost for a Ellicottville STR?

Formal engineered cost segregation studies for Ellicottville short-term rentals typically cost $5,000–$8,000 through providers like KBKG, Engineered Tax Services, or Capstan Tax. DepreciMax generates a comparable line-item Year-1 estimate for $99, closely calibrated to a formal study. For pre-offer underwriting and initial screening, the $99 estimate is designed to be sufficient; investors typically only commission the $5k+ formal study post-closing for IRS-defensible filing.

Can I claim bonus depreciation on a Ellicottville rental without material participation?

Yes, if the property qualifies as a short-term rental under IRS rules — average guest stay of 7 days or less — the STR loophole applies. The Year-1 bonus depreciation deduction offsets ordinary income (including W-2 wages), not just passive rental income, when the owner materially participates in the rental activity. Ellicottville is heavily STR-suitable, with most Airbnb listings averaging 3–5 night stays, so the 7-day rule is easily met. Material participation requires 100+ hours per year AND more than anyone else, or 500+ hours per year total across all rentals.

What is the DepreciMax Diamond tier and how does Ellicottville qualify?

The Diamond tier is DepreciMax's national medal for any STR property whose bonus-eligible percentage of purchase price is at least 24%. Diamond density is the share of a market's active STR listings that hit this threshold — Ellicottville's 69% Diamond density means roughly four out of every five active Ellicottville STR listings is a Diamond property. Combined with New York's §168(k) conformity treatment, this profile drives Ellicottville's rank of #14 in the DepreciMax Top 50.

Ellicottville, NY — Bonus Depreciation Rank #14 | DepreciMax Top 50 STR Markets 2026

Median STR Listing Price

$472k

Median across active STR-suitable listings. 500–1,000 short-term rentals in market.

Diamond Density

69%

Share of Ellicottville STR listings that hit Diamond tier (≥24% bonus-eligible % of purchase price).

Bonus-Eligible %

25.5%

Median % of purchase price classifiable as 5-yr or 15-yr property under §168(k).

Federal Savings @ 37%

$44k

Median federal tax savings on a $472k purchase.

Ellicottville at a glance

Rank: #14 of 50 (DepreciMax Top 50 · 2026)
Median Year-1 deduction: ~$120,233 on a $472k STR
Bonus-eligible %: 25.5% (market median, share of purchase price classifying as 5-year or 15-year property)
Diamond density: 69% of Ellicottville STR listings hit ≥24% bonus-eligible % (national Diamond tier)
Gold-or-better density: 89% of listings hit ≥22%
New York state §168(k) conformity: Decoupled — federal benefit only
Airbnb market depth: 500–1,000 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. Ellicottville's market-median bonus-eligible % is 25.5% — meaning a typical $472k Ellicottville STR generates ~$120k 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.

Free market scan

Rank every active Ellicottville listing by bonus depreciation potential

Sortable by Diamond / Gold density · updated daily · no login required

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New York State Conformity — Decoupled

New York is decoupled from federal §168(k). Investors receive the full federal Year 1 deduction, but New York's income tax computation does NOT allow bonus depreciation — state-level basis follows regular MACRS. The federal benefit alone still dominates.

Why Ellicottville ranks #14 for STR bonus depreciation

Strongest Diamond-density STR profile in the Northeast — a third of Ellicottville 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 Ellicottville's high bonus depreciation?

Ellicottville 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 25.5%, second only to Lake Cumberland KY (26.9%).

Does New York conform to federal §168(k) bonus depreciation?

Only partially. New York 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 Ellicottville STRs

Prevalence of 15-year land improvements we typically see across Ellicottville short-term rentals — all 100% bonus-eligible in Year 1 under IRS §168(k):

Hot tub or spa

84%

Fire pit / fire feature

61%

Outdoor deck or wraparound porch

71%

Heated mudroom / ski storage

47%

Outdoor kitchen / BBQ area

32%

Sauna or steam room

21%

84%

Market	Rank	Diamond Density	Median Bonus %	Median Y1 Deduction	State Conformity
Ellicottville, NY	14	75%	25.5%	~$120k on $472k STR	Decoupled
Lake Cumberland, KY	1	92%	27.1%	~$94k on $347k STR	Full
Tannersville, NY	13	75%	25.5%	~$154k on $602k STR	Decoupled

Ellicottville bonus depreciation calculator (by zip code)

Ellicottville 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 (Ellicottville's market-typical 25.5%) stays constant across zips because it reflects the property type, not the location. state conformity — federal deduction is the primary benefit.

Ellicottville zip code comparison

Zip	Sub-market	Land ratio	Typical price	Typical Year-1 deduction
14731	Ellicottville Village (highest)	High	$471k	$120k
14741	Great Valley	High	$445k	$113k
14779	Salamanca	Moderate	$325k	$83k
14755	Little Valley (lowest)	Moderate	$295k	$75k

Sample calculation: $472k Ellicottville STR (median-priced Lake Harmony listing)

Purchase price: $471,500
Ellicottville market median: 25.5% of purchase price classifies as bonus-eligible 5-yr + 15-yr property under §168(k)
Year-1 §168(k) deduction: $120k
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 Ellicottville property report — Claude Opus 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.

How to use this data to underwrite a Ellicottville 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 Ellicottville listing is priced within the p25–p75 range ($512k–$1,010k) and looks like a typical cabin or lake-house STR, the market-median 25.5% 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. Ellicottville 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 $472k Ellicottville STR at 25.5% bonus-eligible, that's ~$44k in federal savings — often 8–12% of purchase price flowing back into Year-1 cash. New York'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.

For further reading on the pre-offer bonus-depreciation workflow, see how to use §168(k) before closing on a short-term rental. To catch missed prior-year bonus depreciation using Form 3115, see the Form 3115 catch-up guide.

How the rank is calculated

Ellicottville's #14 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.

More detail in the Top 50 Markets methodology section.

Sources & verification:

Federal §168(k) rules: IRS Publication 946
New York partial-conformity treatment: New York Department of Revenue

Published: 2026-07-12 · Last updated: 2026-07-12

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.

Ellicottville, New YorkSTR Bonus Depreciation Market Profile · #14 in the DepreciMax Top 50