Open data · CC-BY 4.0

Gatlinburg, TN cost segregation benchmarks (2026)

Engine-derived ROI data from 5 representative Gatlinburg-area properties. Methodology transparent below. CC-BY 4.0 — journalists, CPAs, and researchers may cite this dataset with attribution.

Three key findings for Gatlinburg

  1. Median engine-estimated Year-1 federal savings: $47,298 (interquartile range $38,495–$47,729, full range $19,840–$87,425) across 5 representative fixtures with purchase prices $385,000–$1,100,000. Assumptions: 100% bonus depreciation under OBBBA; 37% federal top marginal bracket. Individual property results vary substantially based on specific condition, renovation history, and rental treatment.
  2. Median reclassification ratio: 26.7% (interquartile range 25.9%–27.0%, full range 17.4%–27.2%). Furnished STRs sit higher in the range due to FF&E density; long-term rentals sit lower; renovation-cost-pool-driven properties span both. Your specific property may fall outside this range either direction depending on actual condition and renovation history.
  3. Median land allocation: 20.3% (interquartile range 20.2%–20.5%, full range 19.7%–20.9%). Resort-tier and high-cost-of-land neighborhoods (where the engine's premium land floor often applies) compress depreciable basis as a percentage of purchase price, but produce larger absolute dollar deductions. See the methodology note below the neighborhood table for the premium-floor mechanism.

Important framing: These are engine outputs for representative fixture scenarios, not predictions about any specific property. The cost segregation engine takes real property data (address, year built, square footage, renovation history, assessor records) and produces a study tailored to your actual property. The aggregate numbers shown here describe the Gatlinburg market's general profile; your specific results will reflect your specific property.

Per-fixture results

Each fixture was run through the Cost Seg Smart engine — the same engine that produces real customer studies. Numbers below are reproducible from cities/gatlinburg.json via scripts/run_city_stats.py.

Property Neighborhood Price Basis Land % 5-yr 15-yr Reclass % Y1 fed savings @ 37%
Downtown Gatlinburg Cabin STR
SFR · STR · Built 2018
Downtown Gatlinburg $625,000 $497,062 20.5% $96,164 $30,319 25.9% $47,729
Wears Valley New-Build Cabin
SFR · STR · Built 2021
Wears Valley $595,000 $470,645 20.9% $96,176 $28,846 27.2% $47,298
Cobbly Nob Luxury Chalet
SFR · STR · Built 2015
Cobbly Nob / Chalet Village $1,100,000 $876,700 20.3% $176,821 $54,467 27.0% $87,425
Sevierville Family Cabin
SFR · STR · Built 2019
Sevierville (Pigeon Forge corridor) $485,000 $389,261 19.7% $77,970 $23,733 26.7% $38,495
Cosby LTR Cabin
SFR · Built 2010
Cosby / Newport (east of Gatlinburg) $385,000 $307,346 20.2% $32,183 $21,438 17.4% $19,840

Reclassification by property type

Engine property typeFixturesMedian reclass %MinMax
SFR 5 26.7% 17.4% 27.2%

"STR" denotes residential property operating as a short-term rental — the engine applies an FF&E density uplift not captured in the LTR (long-term rental) treatment.

Typical land allocation by neighborhood

NeighborhoodTypical valueTypical land allocationProfile note
Downtown Gatlinburg $625,000 ~24% Walkable resort core. Higher-density condo and small SFR. Within city limits — subject to Gatlinburg STR ordinance and city permit. Lower land allocation due to vertical-density mix.
Wears Valley $595,000 ~22% Newer cabin development corridor (Highway 321 north toward Pigeon Forge). Heavily developed STR product, newer builds dominate. Sevier County (not Gatlinburg city limits) — permit-lighter.
Cobbly Nob / Chalet Village $825,000 ~28% Luxury chalet sub-markets with mountain views and gated/HOA infrastructure. Higher land allocation due to view premiums. Multi-bedroom STR product targeting family bookings.
Sevierville (Pigeon Forge corridor) $485,000 ~20% Lower-elevation cabin product north of Pigeon Forge. Lower land allocation. Strong STR demand from Dollywood / Tanger Outlets traffic but lower ADR than Gatlinburg proper.
Cosby / Newport (east of Gatlinburg) $415,000 ~18% Off-the-beaten-path cabin market east of Gatlinburg. Lowest entry pricing, lower land allocation, weaker STR demand profile. Often a long-term-rental crossover market.
Why per-fixture engine output may differ from the typical land allocation:

The "typical land allocation" column reflects baseline patterns for each sub-market based on county assessor records and statistical modeling. For specific properties where reconstruction cost (RSMeans 2024 component build-up adjusted for time and geography) exceeds 2.0× the implied depreciable basis after subtracting the baseline land — the engine applies a premium land floor (~50%) to keep the study within audit-defensible territory. This typically affects ultra-premium resort inventory (ski-in/ski-out, beachfront, view-premium properties), where land scarcity premium dominates the purchase price. The per-fixture table above shows the actual land_source used by the engine for each fixture — values of statistical_premium_floor indicate the premium-floor mechanism was applied.

The takeaway: typical neighborhood allocations describe the market baseline. Individual property results depend on specific reconstruction-cost-vs-purchase-price ratios, and ultra-premium product may show higher land allocation in the engine output than the neighborhood typical.

Tennessee tax context

Tennessee state position on §168(k) bonus depreciation:

Tennessee has no state income tax — the Hall Tax on interest and dividends was fully repealed effective tax year 2021. Federal cost segregation deductions are the entire tax story for Gatlinburg STR owners. There's no state addback, no decoupling math, no Schedule X reconciliation. Combined with 100% federal bonus depreciation under OBBBA, this is the cleanest state position for cost-seg in the United States.

State income tax structure: No state income tax (Hall Tax fully repealed 2021)

Verify with your CPA. State tax conformity for federal §168(k) is adjusted frequently. Framing reflects our understanding as of May 2026 — verify current-year treatment with a qualified tax professional.

Methodology

Every figure on this page is reproducible. The pipeline:

  1. Fixture definition. 5 Gatlinburg-area properties defined in cities/gatlinburg.json under the engine_fixtures array, each with address, property type, purchase price, year built, square footage, and STR/LTR flag.
  2. Engine run. The script scripts/run_city_stats.py instantiates a PropertyInput for each fixture and calls engine.run_study() — the same path that produces a real customer study.
  3. Base costs. RSMeans 2024 construction-cost data by component category, applied as base-rate per square foot.
  4. Time index. BLS Producer Price Index (Construction Materials series WPUFD49207) adjusts RSMeans 2024 dollars to acquisition-date dollars.
  5. Geographic factor. Six-tier resolver: pinned metros → calibrated → manual → state → region → national default.
  6. Land allocation. County assessor records when reliability gate passes; statistical fallback (metro → state → national medians) otherwise. Premium floor applies when reconciliation factor (rf_raw) exceeds 2.0.
  7. MACRS classification. IRS Pub. 946 + Rev. Proc. 87-56 asset class lives — 5-year (personal property), 7-year (office equipment), 15-year (land improvements), 27.5-year (residential structure), 39-year (commercial structure).
  8. Bonus depreciation. 100% — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, signed July 2025) permanently restored 100% bonus for property placed in service in 2025 and later.
  9. Federal tax savings illustration. Computed at the 37% top marginal bracket. Actual savings vary by taxpayer; consult your CPA.

For full methodology details including QC validation, reconciliation logic, and audit-defense documentation, see costsegsmart.com/methodology.

Citation

This dataset is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may republish, remix, or extend this data for any purpose with attribution. Suggested citation format:

Cost Seg Smart Research Team. (2026). "Gatlinburg, TN Cost Segregation Benchmarks 2026." Cost Seg Smart. 5 representative fixtures.
Retrieved from https://gatlinburgcostseg.com/data/gatlinburg-cost-seg-stats/

For interview requests, additional data slices, or related questions: [email protected].

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