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Nevada Lakefronts: Incline Village to Glenbrook

Lake Tahoe straddles two states with approximately 2/3 of the shoreline in California and 1/3 in Nevada.

With the tax advantages of a Nevada residence, Nevada lakefront properties are some of Tahoe’s most coveted waterfront settings, featuring sandy beaches and breathtaking mountain views. Incline Village has the most positive attributes that drive desirability and value. Therefore, it has the most expensive real estate around the lake. Compounding high values is the small supply of lakefront homes in Incline.

Your private lakefront property reaches to the low water line of Lake Tahoe. This means that for lakefront owners, the public cannot traverse across the beach in the front of most Nevada lakefront homes. On many of the beaches of the California shoreline, the public can traverse across the lakefront area. If the shoreline is rocky, or the nearest public access point is far away, it is unlikely to have this impact on your privacy.

If you establish residency in Nevada, there are big tax advantages:

  • No Personal Income Tax
  • Favorable property tax rate that has nothing to do with purchase price (property tax is generally 30-50% of what it would be in CA)
  • No Corporate Income Tax
  • No Taxes on Corporate Shares
  • No Franchise Tax
  • Nevada corporations may purchase, hold, sell or transfer shares of its own stock
  • Nevada corporations may issue stock for capital, services, personal property, or real estate, including leases and options. The directors may determine the value of any of these transactions, and their decision is final.
  • No Inheritance or Gift Tax
  • No Unitary Tax
  • No Estate Tax
  • Developed on the Delaware model, the Business Court in Nevada minimizes the time, cost and risks of commercial litigation by:
    • Early, comprehensive case management
    • Active judicial participation in settlement
    • Priority for hearing settings to avoid business disruption
    • Predictability of legal decisions in commercial matters 

Much like art, view quality is in the eye of the beholder, but conventional wisdom is that properties on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe in Nevada face the taller peaks of the west shore, offering a more dramatic view. This, of course, varies and is subjective.  

Nevada offers a greater selection of nightlife entertainment around casinos. This may be more driven by North Shore v. South Shore than California v. Nevada, since much of the casino nightlife is located on lake’s southern stateline. North Shore is known for having lower density, with an outdoor-driven lifestyle, whereas the South Shore has more development with more clubs, dining, and entertainment options.

Pier, no pier. The construction of piers is highly regulated making it nearly impossible to get a pier if you don’t have one. Piers are important and valuable amenities. Then there are shared piers versus private piers. If you have a private, deep-water pier with boat lift(s), it can add millions to the property value. 

Water depth. Shallow water areas will be difficult to navigate on boats, especially during drought cycles. The piers around shallow water areas will become unusable in low-water years. 

All properties in the Tahoe Basin are subject to regulation from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, regardless of what state the property is in. There are local controls from other county agencies, but the restrictions mostly come from the TRPA.