To investigate the significant influence of structural characteristics on the calculation of additional effective damping ratios in seismic energy dissipation structures, this study examines four typical structural types: steel frames, concrete frames, concrete frame–shear walls, and concrete shear walls. Additionally, the compatibility between the structural features and three calculation methods—the code method, energy ratio method, and time-variant method—is analyzed. Results show that the optimal method depends strongly on the structural type. For steel frames with low inherent damping and high ductility, the energy ratio method proves to be the most accurate. In the case of concrete frames, all three methods yield small calculation errors; however, the code method is recommended because its computational efficiency and accuracy are comparable to those of the time-variant method. For concrete frame-shear walls with notable stiffness variations, the time-variant method achieves the highest precision, although the code method remains a practical primary alternative. Regarding concrete shear walls, the code method tends to overestimate the damping effects, making the energy ratio method or time-variant method the preferred choice. This study establishes clear adaptation guidelines between structural characteristics and calculation methods, effectively resolves applicability issues, improves computational accuracy and design efficiency, and provides an important basis for the engineering application of viscous dampers.