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.
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 — 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.
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.
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.
