diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py b/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
index 6d1565c5e5..592a8c7acc 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_branch_and_gc.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 import threading
 import time
 
@@ -48,10 +49,8 @@ from fixtures.utils import query_scalar
 # Because the delta layer D covering lsn1 is corrupted, creating a branch
 # starting from lsn1 should return an error as follows:
 #     could not find data for key ... at LSN ..., for request at LSN ...
-def test_branch_and_gc(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv, build_type: str):
-    if build_type == "debug":
-        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
-
+@pytest.mark.skipif(os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "release", reason="times out in debug builds")
+def test_branch_and_gc(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
     env = neon_simple_env
     pageserver_http_client = env.pageserver.http_client()
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_download_extensions.py b/test_runner/regress/test_download_extensions.py
index 0134f80769..f0b8ce1e4d 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_download_extensions.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_download_extensions.py
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonEnvBuilder,
 )
-from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion
+from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion, skip_on_postgres
 from pytest_httpserver import HTTPServer
 from werkzeug.wrappers.request import Request
 from werkzeug.wrappers.response import Response
@@ -41,17 +41,14 @@ def neon_env_builder_local(
     return neon_env_builder
 
 
+@skip_on_postgres(PgVersion.V16, reason="TODO: PG16 extension building")
+@skip_on_postgres(PgVersion.V16, reason="TODO: PG17 extension building")
 def test_remote_extensions(
     httpserver: HTTPServer,
     neon_env_builder_local: NeonEnvBuilder,
     httpserver_listen_address,
     pg_version,
 ):
-    if pg_version == PgVersion.V16:
-        pytest.skip("TODO: PG16 extension building")
-    if pg_version == PgVersion.V17:
-        pytest.skip("TODO: PG17 extension building")
-
     # setup mock http server
     # that expects request for anon.tar.zst
     # and returns the requested file
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_ingestion_layer_size.py b/test_runner/regress/test_ingestion_layer_size.py
index 646dac8e6e..1d5a13b259 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_ingestion_layer_size.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_ingestion_layer_size.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 from collections.abc import Iterable
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
@@ -14,15 +15,13 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from typing import Union
 
 
-def test_ingesting_large_batches_of_images(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, build_type: str):
+@pytest.mark.skipif(os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "release", reason="debug run is unnecessarily slow")
+def test_ingesting_large_batches_of_images(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     """
     Build a non-small GIN index which includes similarly batched up images in WAL stream as does pgvector
     to show that we no longer create oversized layers.
     """
 
-    if build_type == "debug":
-        pytest.skip("debug run is unnecessarily slow")
-
     minimum_initdb_size = 20 * 1024**2
     checkpoint_distance = 32 * 1024**2
     minimum_good_layer_size = checkpoint_distance * 0.9
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_bloating.py b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_bloating.py
index a08d522fc2..2e0f99a897 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_bloating.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_bloating.py
@@ -2,20 +2,22 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
 
-import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     NeonEnvBuilder,
     logical_replication_sync,
     wait_for_last_flush_lsn,
 )
-from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion
+from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion, skip_on_postgres
 
 
+@skip_on_postgres(
+    PgVersion.V14, reason="pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available since Postgres 16"
+)
+@skip_on_postgres(
+    PgVersion.V15, reason="pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available since Postgres 16"
+)
 def test_layer_bloating(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, vanilla_pg):
-    if neon_env_builder.pg_version != PgVersion.V16:
-        pytest.skip("pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available only in PG16")
-
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start(
         initial_tenant_conf={
             "gc_period": "0s",
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
index c49ac6893e..bd1fea45e7 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_layer_eviction.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 import time
 
 import pytest
@@ -16,13 +17,8 @@ from fixtures.remote_storage import RemoteStorageKind
 
 # Crates a few layers, ensures that we can evict them (removing locally but keeping track of them anyway)
 # and then download them back.
-def test_basic_eviction(
-    neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder,
-    build_type: str,
-):
-    if build_type == "debug":
-        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
-
+@pytest.mark.skipif(os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "release", reason="times out in debug builds")
+def test_basic_eviction(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     neon_env_builder.enable_pageserver_remote_storage(RemoteStorageKind.LOCAL_FS)
 
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start(
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
index 783fb813cf..aeac1dfb27 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_neon_cli.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ from fixtures.neon_fixtures import (
     parse_project_git_version_output,
 )
 from fixtures.pageserver.http import PageserverHttpClient
-from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion, skip_on_postgres
+from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion, run_only_on_default_postgres, skip_on_postgres
 
 
 def helper_compare_timeline_list(
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ def test_cli_start_stop_multi(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
     res.check_returncode()
 
 
-@skip_on_postgres(PgVersion.V14, reason="does not use postgres")
+@run_only_on_default_postgres(reason="does not use postgres")
 @pytest.mark.skipif(
     os.environ.get("BUILD_TYPE") == "debug", reason="unit test for test support, either build works"
 )
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
index f7c42fc893..51530c5c08 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_pageserver_restart.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import os
 import random
 from contextlib import closing
 from typing import Optional
@@ -155,12 +156,8 @@ def test_pageserver_restart(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 # safekeeper and compute node keep running.
 @pytest.mark.timeout(540)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("shard_count", [None, 4])
-def test_pageserver_chaos(
-    neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, build_type: str, shard_count: Optional[int]
-):
-    if build_type == "debug":
-        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
-
+@pytest.mark.skipif(os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "release", reason="times out in debug builds")
+def test_pageserver_chaos(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, str, shard_count: Optional[int]):
     # same rationale as with the immediate stop; we might leave orphan layers behind.
     neon_env_builder.disable_scrub_on_exit()
     neon_env_builder.enable_pageserver_remote_storage(s3_storage())
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_replica_start.py b/test_runner/regress/test_replica_start.py
index e81e7dad76..c6b691e38f 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_replica_start.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_replica_start.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import psycopg2
 import pytest
 from fixtures.log_helper import log
 from fixtures.neon_fixtures import NeonEnv, wait_for_last_flush_lsn, wait_replica_caughtup
-from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion
+from fixtures.pg_version import PgVersion, skip_on_postgres
 from fixtures.utils import query_scalar, wait_until
 
 CREATE_SUBXACTS_FUNC = """
@@ -137,6 +137,12 @@ def test_replica_start_scan_clog_crashed_xids(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv):
     assert secondary_cur.fetchone() == (1,)
 
 
+@skip_on_postgres(
+    PgVersion.V14, reason="pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available since Postgres 16"
+)
+@skip_on_postgres(
+    PgVersion.V15, reason="pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available since Postgres 16"
+)
 def test_replica_start_at_running_xacts(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv, pg_version):
     """
     Test that starting a replica works right after the primary has
@@ -149,9 +155,6 @@ def test_replica_start_at_running_xacts(neon_simple_env: NeonEnv, pg_version):
     """
     env = neon_simple_env
 
-    if env.pg_version == PgVersion.V14 or env.pg_version == PgVersion.V15:
-        pytest.skip("pg_log_standby_snapshot() function is available only in PG16")
-
     primary = env.endpoints.create_start(branch_name="main", endpoint_id="primary")
     primary_conn = primary.connect()
     primary_cur = primary_conn.cursor()
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_detach_ancestor.py b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_detach_ancestor.py
index 0e8519e07b..ef0eb05612 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_detach_ancestor.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_timeline_detach_ancestor.py
@@ -869,8 +869,17 @@ def test_sharded_timeline_detach_ancestor(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
         assert count == 10000
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("mode", ["delete_timeline", "delete_tenant"])
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("sharded", [False, True])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "mode, sharded",
+    [
+        ("delete_timeline", False),
+        ("delete_timeline", True),
+        ("delete_tenant", False),
+        # the shared/exclusive lock for tenant is blocking this:
+        # timeline detach ancestor takes shared, delete tenant takes exclusive
+        # ("delete_tenant", True)
+    ],
+)
 def test_timeline_detach_ancestor_interrupted_by_deletion(
     neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, mode: str, sharded: bool
 ):
@@ -885,11 +894,6 @@ def test_timeline_detach_ancestor_interrupted_by_deletion(
     - shutdown winning over complete, see test_timeline_is_deleted_before_timeline_detach_ancestor_completes
     """
 
-    if sharded and mode == "delete_tenant":
-        # the shared/exclusive lock for tenant is blocking this:
-        # timeline detach ancestor takes shared, delete tenant takes exclusive
-        pytest.skip("tenant deletion while timeline ancestor detach is underway cannot happen")
-
     shard_count = 2 if sharded else 1
 
     neon_env_builder.num_pageservers = shard_count
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
index e224d5eb01..db48ad516a 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor.py
@@ -2104,10 +2104,11 @@ def test_pull_timeline_while_evicted(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
 # The only way to verify this without manipulating time is to sleep for a while.
 # In this test we sleep for 60 seconds, so this test takes at least 1 minute to run.
 # This is longer than most other tests, we run it only for v16 to save CI resources.
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    os.getenv("CI") is not None and os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "release",
+    reason="run only on debug build to save CI resources",
+)
 def test_idle_reconnections(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder):
-    if os.environ.get("PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST", "").find("[debug-pg16]") == -1:
-        pytest.skip("run only on debug postgres v16 to save CI resources")
-
     neon_env_builder.num_safekeepers = 3
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start()
 
diff --git a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
index f328974264..e80bc07d05 100644
--- a/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
+++ b/test_runner/regress/test_wal_acceptor_async.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import asyncio
+import os
 import random
 import time
 from dataclasses import dataclass
@@ -760,10 +761,8 @@ async def run_wal_lagging(env: NeonEnv, endpoint: Endpoint, test_output_dir: Pat
 # The test takes more than default 5 minutes on Postgres 16,
 # see https://github.com/neondatabase/neon/issues/5305
 @pytest.mark.timeout(600)
+@pytest.mark.skipif(os.getenv("BUILD_TYPE") != "debug", reason="times out in debug builds")
 def test_wal_lagging(neon_env_builder: NeonEnvBuilder, test_output_dir: Path, build_type: str):
-    if build_type == "debug":
-        pytest.skip("times out in debug builds")
-
     neon_env_builder.num_safekeepers = 3
     env = neon_env_builder.init_start()