Arkansas income tax brackets for 2026 run from 0% to a top rate of 3.9%, and the state uses two separate bracket tables depending on your total net income. If your net income is at or below roughly $94,700, you use a five-bracket schedule that starts at 0% and climbs gradually. Above that threshold, you use a compressed two-bracket schedule that reaches 3.9% almost immediately. The top rate hits net income above $26,400 for filers on the lower-income table.1National Finance Center. Arkansas State Income Tax Withholding
The Lower-Income Bracket Table
If your net income for 2026 is $94,700 or less, these are the rates that apply to each slice of your income:
- $0 to $5,599: 0%
- $5,600 to $11,199: 2%
- $11,200 to $15,999: 3%
- $16,000 to $26,399: 3.4%
- $26,400 to $94,700: 3.9%
The brackets are progressive, so each rate applies only to the dollars that fall inside that range. A filer with $50,000 of net income pays nothing on the first $5,599, 2% on the next slice, and keeps stepping up until the portion above $26,400 is taxed at 3.9%.1National Finance Center. Arkansas State Income Tax Withholding
The Higher-Income Bracket Table
If your net income clears about $94,700, Arkansas switches you to a different schedule with only two brackets:
- $0 to approximately $4,700: 2%
- $4,701 and above: 3.9%
Under this table, nearly all of your income is taxed at the top rate.2Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-201 – Individuals, Trusts, and Estates
To keep a single extra dollar from pushing your whole tax bill sharply higher, the law adds a bracket adjustment for filers with net income between roughly $94,701 and $97,800. The adjustment reduces your tax at the bottom of that range and phases out in $100 income increments until it disappears entirely at $97,800. Above that, no cushion remains.2Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-201 – Individuals, Trusts, and Estates
How the Two-Table System Changes What You Owe
Most states apply one set of brackets to everyone. Arkansas is different: your total net income decides which table applies, and then the rates in that table run from dollar one.
Consider a filer with $90,000 of net income. Because that figure sits above the lower-income threshold, the higher-income table controls. The first roughly $4,700 is taxed at 2% and the rest at 3.9%, producing a larger bill than the same $90,000 would generate under the five-bracket schedule. The bracket adjustment softens the hit by a few hundred dollars for someone in this range, but it does not erase the difference.
If you sit near the $94,700 line, the planning stakes are real. A single additional dollar can move you from one table to the other, and the smoothing adjustment only partially cushions the shift. Pre-tax retirement contributions, HSA deposits, or deductible business expenses that keep you below the threshold can save more than the raw rate math suggests.
Standard Deduction and the Personal Credit
The brackets apply to net income, not gross pay. For 2026, the Arkansas standard deduction is $2,470 per taxpayer.1National Finance Center. Arkansas State Income Tax Withholding A married couple with two earners can each claim it, for a combined $4,940. The statutory base is $2,200 and adjusts annually for inflation.3Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-430 – Deductions – Standard Deduction – Definition
Because this deduction is much smaller than the federal version, many Arkansans who take the federal standard deduction still come out ahead by itemizing on their state return. Arkansas allows itemized deductions for medical costs, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions, among others, though the state does not fully conform to current federal rules. Medical deductions follow the federal rules in effect in 2011, and mortgage interest follows the pre-2018 federal rules. Arkansas income taxes paid are not deductible on your Arkansas return.
After the brackets are applied, every filer subtracts a personal tax credit. The statutory base is $20 for an individual and $40 for a married couple filing jointly, adjusted for inflation each year.4FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 26 Taxation 26-51-501 – Personal Tax Credits – Definitions The inflation-adjusted individual credit for 2026 is $29.1National Finance Center. Arkansas State Income Tax Withholding
Low-Income Credit and Retirement Exemptions
Filers with net income up to $24,700 can claim an additional low-income tax credit. It maxes out at $60 for net income of $23,600 or less and phases down in $5 steps, reaching zero at $24,701. The thresholds adjust for inflation each year.5Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-501 – Personal Tax Credits – Definitions
Social Security benefits are fully exempt from Arkansas income tax. That exemption covers retirement and disability benefits under both the Social Security Act and the Railroad Retirement Act.6Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Individual Income Tax Regulations
Other retirement income gets a $6,000 annual exemption. Military retirees can apply the full $6,000 to their military retirement pay; if the military pension comes in under $6,000, the unused portion can shelter employer-sponsored retirement income. A military pension of $6,000 or more uses up the exemption entirely, with nothing left to apply elsewhere. Non-military retirees apply the $6,000 to qualifying employer-sponsored retirement benefits.7Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. What’s New
Income Thresholds That Trigger a Filing Requirement
You only need to file an Arkansas return if your gross income clears a threshold tied to your filing status and age. The statutory base figures are:8Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-801 – Returns by Individuals – Definitions
- Single, under 65: $7,800
- Single, 65 or older: $9,300
- Head of Household, under 65: $12,100
- Head of Household, 65 or older: $13,000
- Married Filing Jointly, both under 65: $15,500
- Married Filing Jointly, one spouse 65 or older: $15,600
- Married Filing Jointly, both 65 or older: $16,200
These are the unadjusted statutory base amounts. After inflation adjustments, the actual filing thresholds are meaningfully higher. The 2025 inflation-adjusted threshold for single filers under 65 reached roughly $14,600, and married filing jointly reached about $24,700. The 2026 figures will be slightly higher. The Department of Finance and Administration publishes the current-year numbers in the Form AR1000F instructions each January.
Where the Rates Have Been and Where They Might Go
Arkansas has cut its individual income tax repeatedly in recent years. Through 2022, the top rate was 4.9%. A 2023 change dropped it to 4.7% and expanded the 0% bracket to the first $5,099 of net income.2Justia. Arkansas Code 26-51-201 – Individuals, Trusts, and Estates A 2024 special session then cut the top rate to 3.9%, effective January 1, 2024, and widened the brackets again.9Office of the Governor of Arkansas. Governor Sanders Calls a Special Session of the General Assembly The 3.9% top rate carries into 2026, with the bracket boundaries bumped up for inflation.1National Finance Center. Arkansas State Income Tax Withholding
Each round of cuts has also raised the income threshold that separates the two tables, climbing from $84,500 to $87,000 to $89,600, and now to roughly $94,700 for 2026. The 0% bracket floor has grown with it. More cuts could come in future sessions, so if you are preparing your own return, check the Department of Finance and Administration’s published tables each January before you file.