There are three ways to file your Arkansas state income tax return at no cost: use one of the six approved vendors in the Department of Finance and Administration’s Free File portal, get a volunteer preparer to do it for you through VITA or TCE, or download the state forms and mail a paper return. Here is how to file Arkansas state taxes for free through each route, and which one fits your situation.
Free File Through the DFA Portal
The DFA partners with six software providers that let you prepare and e-file both your federal and Arkansas returns for free. You have to reach these vendors through the DFA’s Free File portal, not the vendor’s regular website. The portal link is what waives the fee; going directly to the commercial site does not.1Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. FreeFile Program for Individual Income Tax
Each vendor sets its own income and age rules, so check all six before assuming none apply to you:
- TaxAct: AGI of $89,000 or less if you are between ages 20 and 60, or active duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less.
- OLT.com: AGI of $51,000 or less regardless of age, or active duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less.
- FreeTaxUSA: AGI of $51,000 or less, or active duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less.
- TaxSlayer: AGI between $19,000 and $89,000 and age 67 or younger, qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, or active duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less.
- 1040.com: AGI between $18,100 and $89,000, or active duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less.
- 1040Now: AGI of $32,000 or less, limited to three free returns per computer.
Every vendor extends the same $89,000 AGI ceiling to active duty military filers, so if you served during the tax year, any of the six will work.1Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. FreeFile Program for Individual Income Tax
The software runs an interview, pulls information from your federal Form 1040, and applies Arkansas-specific items like the state standard deduction. When you submit, you create a five-digit PIN as your digital signature. It can be any five numbers you pick, other than all zeros, and no advance registration is needed.2Internal Revenue Service. IRS Courseware – Self-Select PIN
The AR8453-OL Form You Keep at Home
Anyone who e-files an Arkansas return through an online provider has to complete Form AR8453-OL. Do not mail it. Keep it with your W-2s and any supporting schedules in your personal records. The DFA will ask for it only if your return is picked for review.3Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Arkansas eFile
Free In-Person Help Through VITA and TCE
If you want a real person to prepare your return instead of clicking through software, the IRS sponsors two volunteer programs that operate throughout Arkansas at community centers, libraries, and other public sites.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program serves people who earn $69,000 or less, people with disabilities, and filers with limited English. Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) focuses on filers aged 60 and older and has no income cap. Both programs use IRS-certified volunteers who handle federal and state returns together.4Internal Revenue Service. Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers
To find a nearby site, use the IRS locator at irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep or call 800-906-9887.
Filing a Paper Return for Free
Paper filing has no income cap. You can always download Arkansas forms from the DFA website and mail your return at the cost of a stamp. Full-year residents use the AR1000F (long form) or AR1000S (short form). Part-year residents and nonresidents use the AR1000NR.
Paper filers do their own math, so recheck every line. Attach copies of all W-2s, any 1099-Rs for retirement income, and any Schedule K-1s. Sign and date the return before mailing. An unsigned return gets sent back and delays everything.
The mailing address depends on the outcome of your return:
- Refund or zero-balance return: Arkansas State Income Tax, P.O. Box 1000, Little Rock, AR 72203-1000
- Balance due: Arkansas State Income Tax, P.O. Box 2144, Little Rock, AR 72203-2144
Special Rules for Active Duty Military and Spouses
Active duty service members qualify for Free File with every approved vendor as long as AGI is $89,000 or less, regardless of age.1Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. FreeFile Program for Individual Income Tax
Military spouses stationed in Arkansas may not owe Arkansas income tax at all. Under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, wages earned by a military spouse are exempt from Arkansas personal income tax if the couple relocated to Arkansas under military orders and both share a legal domicile in another state where they intend to return. If Arkansas taxes were withheld from those wages, the spouse can file for a full refund.5Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Military Spouses Residency Relief Act
Tracking Your Refund After You File
Arkansas offers a “Where’s My Refund?” tool through the state’s online portal.6Arkansas.gov. Where’s My Refund? Have your Social Security number and the exact refund amount from your return ready when you look up the status.
E-filed returns with direct deposit typically produce refunds in about three weeks. Paper returns take six to eight weeks. Returns with errors, incomplete information, or credits that trigger additional review can take longer than either window.
If you can e-file for free and want your money back quickly, the DFA portal plus direct deposit is the fastest path. If your income or situation rules out the software vendors, the paper AR1000F and a mailbox will do the same job at the same cost, just more slowly.