The sales tax rate in Fayetteville, AR is 9.75 percent on most retail purchases. That total combines a 6.50 percent Arkansas state tax, a 1.25 percent Washington County tax, and a 2.00 percent City of Fayetteville tax, all collected together on a single line of your receipt.1City of Fayetteville Arkansas. Sales Tax Rates Groceries are taxed at a much lower rate, prescriptions are exempt, and the local portion is capped on vehicles and other big purchases.
What the 9.75 Percent Covers
Arkansas taxes the sale of tangible personal property broadly: clothing, electronics, furniture, and most other physical goods you’d buy in a store.2Justia. Arkansas Code 26-52-301 – Tax Levied – Definitions The tax also reaches certain services, including residential and commercial utilities, telecommunications, and repair or maintenance work on personal property.
Prepared food is taxed at the full 9.75 percent. Arkansas defines prepared food as anything sold heated, any combination of two or more ingredients mixed by the seller, or any food sold with plates, forks, napkins, or similar items.3Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Food and Food Ingredients So a restaurant meal, a hot deli sandwich, or a salad from a store that hands you a fork all get the full rate.
Groceries Are Taxed at 3.25 Percent
As of January 1, 2026, the state sales tax rate on food and food ingredients dropped to 0.00 percent.4Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. State Sales and Use Tax Rates Local taxes still apply at their full rates, though. Washington County’s 1.25 percent and Fayetteville’s 2.00 percent remain in place, so groceries in Fayetteville are taxed at a combined 3.25 percent rather than zero.5Washington County, AR. Sales Tax Breakdown
The gap between groceries at 3.25 percent and prepared food at 9.75 percent matters more than it sounds. A rotisserie chicken from the hot bar costs you three times the tax of a raw one from the meat case.
The Local Cap on Vehicles and Other Big Purchases
When you buy a motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or manufactured home, county sales tax applies only to the first $2,500 of the purchase price, and a similar cap applies to the city portion.6Justia. Arkansas Code 26-74-412 – Maximum Tax Limitation The state’s 6.50 percent applies to the full price with no cap.
On a $35,000 car in Fayetteville, the county and city taxes combined top out at about $81.25 (3.25 percent of $2,500) instead of the roughly $1,137.50 you would owe if the local rate applied to the whole price. The state portion is still $2,275. The headline 9.75 percent rate overstates what you’ll actually pay on a vehicle by a wide margin.
What’s Exempt
Prescription drugs dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, hospital, or physician for human use are fully exempt from both state and local sales tax.7Justia. Arkansas Code 26-52-406 – Prescription Drugs and Oxygen Over-the-counter medications don’t qualify, even when a doctor recommends them.
Sales to government agencies and qualifying nonprofits can also be exempt when the buyer provides a valid exemption certificate.8Justia. Arkansas Code 26-52-517 – Exemption Certificates
The August Sales Tax Holiday
Arkansas suspends state and local sales tax on back-to-school items for 48 hours each August. In 2026, the holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, August 1 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 2.9Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Arkansas Sales Tax Holiday – August 1 and 2, 2026 Qualifying categories include:
- Clothing and footwear under $100 per item
- Clothing accessories under $50 per item, including jewelry and cosmetics
- School supplies such as notebooks, pencils, folders, backpacks, and lunch boxes, with no price cap
- School art supplies including paints, brushes, clay, sketch pads, and watercolors, with no price cap
- Electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, calculators, printers, and e-readers, with no price cap
- Instructional materials including textbooks, workbooks, reference books, maps, and globes, with no price cap
At 9.75 percent, the tax on a single $99 jacket runs about $9.65. Across a family’s back-to-school list, the weekend adds up.
Online Orders Shipped to Fayetteville
Out-of-state retailers have to collect Arkansas sales tax once their sales into the state exceed $100,000 in revenue or 200 transactions in the current or prior calendar year.10Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators Most large online sellers already clear that bar and charge the full 9.75 percent on orders shipped to a Fayetteville address.
When a seller doesn’t collect the tax, typically a small out-of-state business or a private-party transaction, you owe the equivalent amount as consumer use tax at the same rate. Arkansas expects you to self-report it. Most individual shoppers don’t, but the obligation is on the books.
Claiming Sales Tax on Your Federal Return
Because Arkansas has a state income tax, most Fayetteville residents who itemize will deduct their state income tax on Schedule A rather than their sales tax. If your income tax is low relative to your spending, retirees living off savings being the common example, you can deduct state and local sales tax instead.11Internal Revenue Service. Use the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator You pick one or the other.
The IRS publishes optional sales tax tables, so you don’t need every receipt, and you can add the actual tax paid on big-ticket items like a vehicle on top of the table amount. The combined deduction for state and local taxes, whether income, sales, or property, is capped at $10,000 per return and $5,000 if married filing separately.11Internal Revenue Service. Use the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator At 9.75 percent, Fayetteville shoppers hit that cap faster than people living in lower-tax areas, so running the numbers both ways before you file is worth the few minutes.