The short answer
Wyoming has no individual income tax, no real estate transfer tax and no withholding at closing, so a 1031 exchange of Wyoming investment property defers federal tax only; the state takes nothing on the gain either way. Wyoming's rules show up elsewhere: a confidential statement of consideration is filed with every deed, property is assessed each January 1 at 9.5% of market value, and the 25% homeowner exemption stops reaching rentals in 2026. The state-tax question moves to the DST's state, which may tax the rental income to a Wyoming resident.
Wyoming at a glance
| State income tax | None; Wyo. Const. art. 15, § 18 conditions any income tax on credits for other taxes |
|---|---|
| Real estate transfer tax | None; a confidential statement of consideration is filed with the deed (W.S. 34-1-142) |
| Withholding at closing | None for residents or nonresidents |
| Claw-back of deferred gain | None; there is no state income tax to reach it |
| Property tax assessment ratio | 9.5% of fair market value for residential and commercial; 11.5% industrial; 100% minerals |
| Agricultural land | Valued on productive capability if it earns $500+ in gross ag revenue ($1,000 if leased) |
| Homeowner exemption (2025 SF 69) | 25% of the first $1M of value; from tax year 2026 the claimant must live there 8+ months |
| LLC and trust law | Charging order is the exclusive creditor remedy; trusts may run up to 1,000 years |
Wyoming takes nothing on the gain, so the exchange defers federal tax only
A Wyoming investor selling a rental, a ranch or a commercial building owes the state no income tax on the gain, with or without an exchange. Wyoming levies no individual income tax, and Article 15, Section 18 of the Wyoming Constitution, ratified in 1974, provides that no tax may be imposed on income without a full credit for all sales, use and property taxes the same taxpayer paid in Wyoming that year.
That makes the exchange decision a purely federal one for Wyoming property: the capital gains tax and depreciation recapture are what a completed exchange defers. The federal overview covers those rules, and nothing in Wyoming law adds to or subtracts from them.
Wyoming also has no withholding on sales by nonresident owners and no claw-back of deferred gain. An investor who lives in Colorado and sells Wyoming land through an exchange deals only with Colorado and the IRS on the gain.
No transfer tax, but every Wyoming deed carries a sworn statement of consideration
Wyoming imposes no real estate transfer, deed or documentary tax, so the closing statement on a Wyoming sale shows no state or county excise line. What W.S. 34-1-142 requires instead is a statement under oath by the grantee or the grantee's agent giving the parties, the date of sale, the legal description, the full amount paid, the terms and an estimate of any non-real property included.
The statement is not a public record. The statute directs the county clerk, the assessor, the county and state boards of equalization and the Department of Revenue to hold it confidential, and it may not by itself be used to adjust the assessed value of that one property; assessors use the statements collectively to compute sales-price ratios by county.
For an exchanger, that means a Wyoming sale price does not become public through the deed the way it does where transfer tax is stamped on the instrument, and the qualified intermediary's involvement changes nothing about the filing.
Assessment every January 1 at 9.5% of value, and a homeowner exemption that stops reaching rentals in 2026
Under W.S. 39-13-103, all property is listed and valued each year as of January 1 at fair market value, then assessed at 9.5% for residential and commercial property, 11.5% for industrial property and 100% for minerals. Because valuation is annual, a sale does not by itself reset the assessed value.
Investors who own single-family rentals should note the change in the homeowner exemption. 2025 Senate File 69 exempts 25% of the fair market value of a single-family residential structure and its improved land, on the first $1,000,000 of value, beginning with tax year 2025.
From tax year 2026 onward, the act requires the person claiming the exemption to actually reside in the structure at least eight months of the year, with a carve-out for active-duty service members. A rental house therefore received the exemption for 2025 only, which is worth factoring into the hold-versus-exchange comparison on Wyoming residential property.
Agricultural land is valued on what it can produce, not on what a buyer pays
W.S. 39-13-103 values agricultural land on its current use and its capability to produce agricultural products rather than on market value. To qualify, the land must be in agricultural use and the owner must derive at least $500 a year in gross revenue from agricultural products, or $1,000 where the land is leased.
The agricultural valuation attaches to the land's use, so it continues after a sale if the buyer keeps the land in qualifying production. A seller exchanging ranch acreage into a DST gives up that valuation only in the sense that the DST's property is assessed under its own state's rules.
Wyoming's LLC and trust statutes belong in the exchange plan
Many Wyoming investors hold property in a Wyoming LLC. W.S. 17-29-503 makes a charging order the exclusive remedy for a member's judgment creditor, bars foreclosure on the member's interest, and applies that protection even to a single-member LLC, so the same entity can generally hold the replacement DST interest afterward with the same protection, subject to the sponsor's investor requirements.
The annual report license tax for that LLC is the greater of $60 or $0.0002 per dollar of assets located and employed in Wyoming, so an LLC whose only asset becomes a DST interest in another state should ask its CPA how that base is measured.
On the trust side, W.S. 34-1-139 lets a trust created after July 1, 2003 that is governed by Wyoming law and administered here continue for up to 1,000 years for property other than interests in real property, while interests in real property remain under the common-law rule of lives in being plus 21 years. Wyoming also has its own Statutory Trust Act, under which a statutory trust is a separate legal entity, though the DSTs sold nationally are Delaware trusts addressed by Rev. Rul. 2004-86.
Replacement property
A Wyoming seller's DST trade: tax-free gain today, the property state's rules tomorrow
A Wyoming investor exchanging into a DST is almost always trading real estate in a state with no income tax for an interest in property somewhere that may tax rental income. Rev. Rul. 2004-86 supplies the federal footing, holding that a properly restricted DST interest is exchangeable real property under Section 1031, and the traditional DST page explains the trustee limits that keep it that way.
Each DST building's rent is generally treated as income of the state that building is in. A Wyoming resident receives no home-state credit because there is no home-state tax, so a nonresident return and tax in that property state is the likely new cost; DSTs holding property in states without an income tax avoid it.
How a DST interest is characterized under Wyoming's 1,000-year trust rule, which treats interests in real property differently from other property, is a question for estate counsel. Sourcing, filing and entity questions should go to your CPA and the Wyoming Department of Revenue before the relinquished property closes.
Questions investors ask about 1031 exchanges in Wyoming
Does Wyoming tax the gain when I sell a rental in Jackson without doing an exchange?
No. Wyoming has no individual income tax, so the gain is taxed federally only. An exchange defers the federal tax; it changes nothing at the state level.
Is there a transfer tax or stamp tax on a Wyoming deed?
No. Wyoming charges no transfer tax. The grantee files a sworn statement of consideration under W.S. 34-1-142 that stays confidential with the county clerk and assessor.
Will my Wyoming rental house keep the 25% property tax exemption if I hold it instead of exchanging?
Not after 2025. Beginning with tax year 2026 the homeowner exemption from 2025 Senate File 69 requires the claimant to live in the home at least eight months of the year.
If I exchange Wyoming ranch land into a DST whose buildings are in a state with an income tax, who taxes the income?
That state generally taxes the rental income sourced to property there, and you would file as a nonresident. Wyoming has no income tax and no credit mechanism, so the DST's state is the only state tax on that income. Confirm the details with a CPA.
Does selling Wyoming property owned by my single-member LLC change the exchange?
Not at the state level. Wyoming imposes no income tax on the LLC or its member, the charging-order protection under W.S. 17-29-503 continues, and the annual license tax is measured on assets located and employed in Wyoming.
Sources
The rules above were checked against these publications on September 18, 2026. Rates and forms change; confirm the current version with your CPA and the Wyoming tax agency before you close. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice.
- Wyoming Constitution, art. 15, §§ 11 and 18 (Secretary of State publication)
- W.S. 39-13-103 (property valuation, assessment ratios and agricultural land)
- W.S. 34-1-142 (statement of consideration)
- 2025 Senate File 69, Enrolled Act No. 60 (homeowner property tax exemption)
- Wyoming Statutes Title 34 (W.S. 34-1-139, perpetuities)
- W.S. 17-29-503 (charging order as exclusive remedy)
- Wyoming Secretary of State: Business Division filing fee schedule (annual report license tax)
- IRS Rev. Rul. 2004-86 (Delaware statutory trusts and Section 1031)