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- Who must file an Arkansas individual return
- Arkansas taxable income and the 3.9% rate
- Standard and itemized deductions
- Arkansas income exclusions and adjustments
- Filing deadline and extensions
- Withholding, estimated tax, and refunds
- Arkansas sales and use tax
- Business, property, and vehicle taxes
- Amending an Arkansas return
- Arkansas and federal taxes are separate
- Sources
Key Facts
- 2025 individual rate: Arkansas’s top marginal individual income-tax rate is 3.9% for tax year 2025.
- 2025 filing deadline: A calendar-year Arkansas individual return was due April 15, 2026, unless extended.
- Extension rule: An extension postpones filing, not payment; 2025 tax remained payable by April 15, 2026.
- Resident form: Full-year residents generally use AR1000F, while part-year residents and nonresidents use AR1000NR.
- Sales tax: Arkansas’s state sales and use tax rate is 6.5%, with additional local rates determined by the applicable city and county.
- Separate systems: An Arkansas return does not replace a federal return, and federal rules do not establish Arkansas liability.
“Arkansas tax” can mean individual income tax, sales and use tax, business tax, property tax, or a specialized excise tax. Each has a different tax base, return, administrator, and deadline.
This guide emphasizes the 2025 Arkansas individual income-tax return filed in 2026, then explains the state’s sales and use tax framework. Year labels matter: a return filed during 2026 commonly reports income earned in 2025.
Who must file an Arkansas individual return
Full-year Arkansas residents generally file Form AR1000F when gross income reaches the filing threshold for their status. For 2025, the instructions list thresholds including $14,644 for a single filer, $24,696 for married filing jointly with one or no dependents, and $9,470 for married filing separately.
Other resident thresholds depend on filing status and dependents. A return can still be useful below the threshold when Arkansas tax was withheld and the taxpayer wants a refund.
Part-year residents who received gross income while resident generally use AR1000NR. Nonresidents use AR1000NR when they received Arkansas-source gross income, regardless of amount. Remote workers should examine sourcing carefully rather than assume an employer’s location alone determines the answer.
Arkansas taxable income and the 3.9% rate
Arkansas begins with categories of income reported under state instructions and then applies Arkansas adjustments, exemptions, and deductions. State taxable income can differ from federal taxable income because Arkansas does not adopt every federal rule identically.
For tax year 2025, the top marginal individual rate is 3.9%. This is a marginal rate, not a flat percentage applied to all gross income. The regular tax table applies graduated amounts, and qualifying taxpayers may instead use a low-income table.
For 2025 regular-table filers, tax on net taxable income over $100,000 is $3,809 plus 3.9% of the excess over $100,000. The official table should be used for the return rather than estimating tax from the top rate.
Standard and itemized deductions
The 2025 standard deduction is $2,470 for single, head-of-household, married-separate, and qualifying surviving-spouse filers. It is $4,940 for married filing jointly. A taxpayer claimed as a dependent does not use the ordinary $2,470 amount.
A taxpayer using the regular table generally enters the larger of the Arkansas standard deduction or allowable itemized deductions from Form AR3. Arkansas itemized deductions and limitations must be computed under the state instructions; a federal Schedule A amount should not simply be copied without reconciliation.
The low-income tax tables already incorporate a deduction. A qualifying filer using such a table enters zero on the deduction line and follows the table’s status and income limits.
Arkansas income exclusions and adjustments
Arkansas excludes several items identified in its instructions, including Social Security benefits, qualifying VA benefits, workers’ compensation, and Railroad Retirement benefits. The state also provides rules for retirement-income exclusions and military income.
Arkansas treatment can diverge from federal treatment. For example, the 2025 instructions state that qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness amounts are excluded under current Arkansas law while discharges under other programs may be included.
Capital gains, depreciation, pass-through income, and pension distributions can require Arkansas schedules or adjustments. Keep federal returns, Forms W-2 and 1099, basis records, and state-specific schedules together.
Filing deadline and extensions
The 2025 calendar-year Arkansas individual return was due April 15, 2026. A timely federal extension can extend the Arkansas filing deadline when properly indicated on the state return, and Arkansas Form AR1055-IT provides a state extension process.
An extension gives more time to file but not more time to pay. Tax due for 2025 remained payable by April 15, 2026 to avoid applicable penalty and interest.
The Arkansas-specific extension can provide up to 210 days, extending the state due date to November 15. Filing and payment evidence should be retained, including electronic confirmations or certified-mail records.
Withholding, estimated tax, and refunds
Employees typically prepay Arkansas income tax through wage withholding. The 2025 return reports W-2 withholding separately from withholding shown on Forms 1099 or Schedule K-1.
People without sufficient withholding may need estimated payments using AR1000ES. Underpayment can generate a penalty even when the remaining balance is paid with the return.
Arkansas Taxpayer Access Point, or ATAP, provides online services, including refund-status tools and payment functions. Verify account information through the official DFA site and retain confirmation numbers.
Arkansas sales and use tax
The Arkansas state sales and use tax rate is 6.5%. City and county taxes can be added, so the combined rate depends on the transaction and delivery location.
Sales tax generally applies when a seller collects tax on a taxable Arkansas sale. Complementary use tax can apply when taxable property or services are used, stored, distributed, or consumed in Arkansas and sufficient sales tax was not collected.
Local rates change during the year. Businesses and consumers should use DFA’s current rate lookup for the relevant date and location rather than rely on a statewide rate alone.
Business, property, and vehicle taxes
Businesses can face income, pass-through entity, withholding, sales and use, unemployment, franchise, and industry-specific taxes. Registration, frequency, and due dates depend on the activity and account.
Arkansas property taxes are primarily local and depend on county assessment and collection procedures. State income-tax sources do not prove the assessed value, millage, exemption, or delinquency rules for a parcel.
Motor-vehicle tax rules include special thresholds and rates. DFA states that new vehicles generally face the 6.5% state rate, while qualifying used vehicles priced from $4,000 through $9,999 use a 3.5% state rate; local tax may also apply.
Amending an Arkansas return
A taxpayer may need to amend after discovering omitted income, an incorrect deduction, wrong withholding, or a federal change affecting Arkansas. The amended return should identify the changes and include the required supporting schedules.
A federal amendment or IRS adjustment does not automatically correct the Arkansas account. Review Arkansas’s current amendment and reporting instructions whenever federal taxable items change.
Arkansas and federal taxes are separate
Arkansas and the federal government impose separate income taxes. A federal extension may affect the state filing process, but payment duties, additions, deductions, credits, notices, and appeal rights remain jurisdiction-specific.
For paycheck prepayments under the national system, see the guide to federal tax withholding. That federal article does not establish Arkansas liability.
