Arkansas State Income Taxes

The filing deadline in the state of Arkansas April 15th.


This page:

  •; Lists basic Arkansas state tax information

  •; Links to the major Arkansas income tax forms

  •; Shows you how you can save time and money by e-filing

Prepare your Arkansas taxes online, for free:
If you want to avoid costly mistakes, while at the same time taking advantage of all possible credits and deductions, you want to do your taxes online.

TurboTax Online allows you to work on your return for free, until you file. Work on your federal and Arkansas state taxes, and pay nothing until you are satisfied with your return. Start now.

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Arkansas state taxes at a glance:

Tax Rate Range: Low - 1.0%; High - 7.0%
Income Brackets: Lowest - $3,999; Highest - $28,500
Number of Brackets: 6
Tax Credit: Single - $20; Married - $40; Dependents - $20; Senior - $20
Standard Deduction: 10% of gross income up to $1,000
Medical/Dental Deduction: Same as Federal Taxes
Federal Income Tax Deduction: None

Filing your Arkansas state tax return

Arkansas's tax system is similar to the federal income tax system of the IRS, but there are still some key differences.

First off, your Arkansas state income filing status does not have to match your federal income tax filing status - just make sure you are eligible to file under either status.

If below a certain income, Arkansas residents are not required to file a state tax return. These limits, however, do not apply nonresidents or part time residents whom receive income from an Arkansas source.

Arkansas does not tax income coming from certain sources. For instance, life insurance benefits, fellowships, interest receive from the US, social security benefits and all related supplemental benefits, among others.
Arkansas allows tax adjustments in the following areas:

  • contributions to an IRA or MSA,
  • interest paid on student loans,
  • payments to qualified retirement plans,
  • child care costs or a disabled dependent,
  • premiums for self-employed health insurance,
  • moving expenses.

Arkansas also allows the following tax deductions:

  • medical and dental expenses (more the 7.5% of your AGI),
  • home mortgage and investment interest,
  • charitable contributions,
  • casualty and theft losses,
  • post-secondary education expenses,
  • miscellaneous deductions that exceed 2% of you AGI.

Arkansas tax credits include the following:

  • child care credit (20% of allowable federal child care credit),
  • disabled dependent care credit,
  • adoption credit (20% of federal credit).

Also, a personal tax credit is allowed per taxpayer amounting to $20. Dependents are also eligible for a $20 tax credit. An additional $20 tax credit is given to any taxpayer who is blind, deaf, or over 65.

A percentage of your capital gains is included in your taxable income. Seventy percent of capital gains is treated as regular income, while the remaining 30% is considered tax exempt.

Retirement income is taxable in the state of Arkansas, even if the source is from a different state. However, taxpayers who receive an IRA distribution after reaching the age of 59.5 don't pay tax on the first $6,000 in distributions.

Nonresident who are employed in the state of Arkansas need to file an Arkansas state income tax return. Individuals who do not reside in Arkansas the entire year must file an Arkansas tax return regardless of their individual income level.

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You can work on your Arkansas tax return online while filing your federal return (you can work on it for free, and pay nothing until you are ready to file).

Note: if you are filing more than one state return, you must file a paper return for each additional state, as TurboTax Online only allows one state prep.

Arkansas income tax forms

The main Arkansas tax forms are:

AR1000 | 2006 Arkansas Individual Income Tax Return| Instructions

AR1000S | Short State Income Tax Return | Instructions

Schedule AR3 | Itemized Deductions

Schedule AR4 | Interest and Dividends

If you need Arkansas income tax forms that are not listed here, you can download them from the Arkansas tax forms site.


Or, just simply e-file!

Additional AR state taxes help

If you need help with your federal tax return, start with our basic guide to tax filing.

For additional help with filing AR income tax returns, see the official site of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

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