ARKANSAS PAYCHECK CALCULATOR

Arkansas has spent the last five years quietly cutting its own income tax, four separate rate reductions since 2021, and the most recent one landed mid-2026. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called a special legislative session in May 2026, and within three days lawmakers passed HB1001 and SB1, dropping the top individual rate from 3.9% to 3.7%, backdated to January 1, 2026. That puts Arkansas’s top rate below Missouri (4.7%) and Oklahoma (4.5%), though still above flat-3% Louisiana and well above zero-tax neighbors Texas and Tennessee. Overall, on the 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index, Arkansas lands in the middle of the pack nationally, a state that’s cut income tax aggressively but leans harder than most on sales tax to make up the difference.

What actually comes out of an Arkansas paycheck: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and Arkansas’s own graduated state tax, calculated off a “net income” figure using the state’s own standard deduction rather than the federal one. There’s no city or county income tax layered on top anywhere in the state. If you’re comparing offers across state lines, it’s worth lining this up against neighbors: check the Texas paycheck calculator and Tennessee paycheck calculator for zero-income-tax comparisons, or the Missouri paycheck calculator and Oklahoma paycheck calculator for two other border states.

Federal Tax on a $70,000 Salary: The Worked Example

Here’s exactly how the calculator above lands on the federal number for a single filer earning $70,000 in 2026.

Step	Detail	Amount
Gross salary	Starting point	$70,000
Minus standard deduction	Single filer, 2026	-$16,100
Federal taxable income		$53,900
10% bracket	$0 – $12,400	$1,240
12% bracket	$12,400 – $50,400	$4,560
22% bracket	$50,400 – $53,900	$770
Total federal tax	Effective rate: 9.4% of gross	$6,570

The marginal rate here is 22%, but the effective rate across the full $70,000 comes out closer to 9.4%. That’s the progressive system doing its job: only the income that actually falls inside the 22% band gets taxed at 22%, everything below it stays at the lower rates.

Arkansas vs Neighboring States at $70,000 (Single)

Figures below use each state’s own 2026 rate schedule and standard deduction, same $70,000 gross salary, single filer, before local taxes or credits.

State	Income Tax Type	State Tax Owed	Estimated Net Pay
Texas	No income tax	$0	$58,075
Tennessee	No income tax	$0	$58,075
Arkansas	Graduated, 0%-3.7%	$2,102	$55,973
Oklahoma	Graduated, up to 4.5%	~$2,650	~$55,425
Mississippi	Flat 4.0%	~$2,400	~$55,675
Missouri	Graduated, up to 4.7%	~$2,900	~$55,175

Oklahoma, Mississippi and Missouri figures are close estimates built from each state’s published 2026 top rate and general bracket structure rather than a full line-by-line bracket walk, so treat them as directional rather than exact filing numbers. Texas and Tennessee levy no state income tax at all, which is why border-hopping for work, without actually moving, doesn’t help Arkansas residents: Arkansas taxes income earned by its residents regardless of where the job is.

Where Your Paycheck Money Actually Goes

Follow a $70,000 Arkansas salary from gross to net, in the order it actually leaves your check. Federal income tax comes off first, calculated on taxable income after the federal standard deduction: $6,570 gone before anything else. Social Security takes a flat 6.2% next, applying to the full salary since it’s well under the $184,500 wage base for 2026: that’s $4,340. Medicare follows at 1.45% with no cap at all, adding $1,015. Arkansas’s own state tax comes last, and it works differently from most states: it’s built off “net income,” roughly your gross minus Arkansas’s own $2,470 standard deduction, run through five brackets from 0% up to 3.7%, then reduced by a small $29 personal tax credit. On this $70,000 example that lands at $2,102. Add it all up and $14,027 leaves the paycheck before it’s yours, landing you at $55,973 for the year, or about $2,153 every two weeks on a standard biweekly schedule.

Arkansas’s Four-Year Streak of Tax Cuts

Arkansas’s top individual rate has come down every year or two since 2021, and the pace hasn’t really slowed. What started at 7.0% is now sitting at 3.7%, the fourth cut in four years, and each one has come through the same playbook: a state revenue surplus, a special or regular legislative session, and a rate cut signed by Governor Sanders.

Effective Year	Top Individual Rate
2021 and earlier	7.0%
2021 reform	5.9%
2023	4.9%, then 4.7%
2024	4.4%
Late 2025	3.9%
2026 (retroactive to Jan 1)	3.7%

The most recent cut came together fast. Governor Sanders called a special session in May 2026, and HB1001 and SB1, identical bills reducing the top individual rate to 3.7% and the top corporate rate to 4.1%, passed and were signed within three days, on May 6, 2026. Because the cut applies retroactively to January 1, 2026, roughly 1.1 million Arkansas taxpayers with net income above $26,400 benefit for the full tax year even though withholding tables may not have caught up until partway through the year.

Arkansas’s Tax Burden vs National Averages

Tax Type	Arkansas	National Picture
Income tax	Graduated, 0%-3.7%	Below the national median top rate
Sales tax (avg. combined)	~9.46%	Among the highest combined rates in the country
Property tax (effective rate)	~0.53%	Well below the national average
Estate / inheritance tax	None	Matches most states post-2005 federal changes

Arkansas’s honest trade-off is the mirror image of a lot of no-income-tax states: instead of leaning entirely on sales tax, it keeps a modest graduated income tax but still charges one of the higher combined sales tax rates in the country, close to 9.5% on average once local add-ons stack on the 6.5% state rate. Property owners come out ahead either way, with an effective rate under 0.6% that’s consistently among the lowest nationally. Groceries got a break too: Arkansas dropped its state-level sales tax on food and food ingredients starting January 1, 2026, though local grocery taxes can still apply.

Retirees in Arkansas

Arkansas treats retirement income kindly on two of the biggest line items. Social Security benefits are fully exempt from state income tax with no income cap attached. Military retirement pay, including survivor benefit plan payments, is also fully exempt. For other retirement income, Arkansas exempts the first $6,000 per year from private or government employer-sponsored retirement plans, pensions, 401(k) plans and annuities, and residents age 59½ or older get the same $6,000 exemption applied to traditional IRA distributions. Homeowners 65 or older, or those with a qualifying disability, can also apply to freeze the assessed value of their homestead property, which caps future property tax increases regardless of how much the home’s market value rises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arkansas’s tax picture in 2026 is a state actively trying to make itself more competitive without going all the way to zero income tax. Four rate cuts in four years have brought the top bracket from 7.0% down to 3.7%, and the state pairs that with genuinely generous treatment of Social Security and military retirement income. The number to watch if that trend continues is the sales tax side, since that’s where Arkansas leans harder than most states to keep the budget balanced.

Figures on this page are estimates for tax year 2026 based on published federal and state rates as of August 2026. They do not account for every credit, deduction, or local circumstance. Verify current figures with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration or a tax professional before filing.