The Little Rock sales tax is 8.625% on most purchases, combining a 6.5% state rate, a 1.0% Pulaski County rate, and a 1.125% city rate.1City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates Groceries, prescription drugs, and a short list of other categories are taxed at a lower rate or fully exempt, and hotels, restaurants, and bars add their own layers on top.
How the 8.625% Breaks Down
Three governments each take a share of every taxable sale inside city limits. Arkansas collects 6.5%, the largest slice.2City of Little Rock. Community Meeting Sales Tax Slide Deck Pulaski County adds 1.0%. The City of Little Rock adds 1.125%. That total, 8.625%, is what appears on a typical receipt for goods or a taxable service.
What Gets Taxed
Arkansas taxes tangible personal property broadly: vehicles, appliances, clothing, furniture, electronics, household goods. Specified digital products sold to end users are also taxable, including downloaded music, movies, and digital codes.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 26-52-301 – Tax Levied Software delivered on a physical disc is taxable; licensing fees for software downloaded purely electronically may be exempt when the charges are stated separately from any tangible materials.
Services are taxed only when they appear on the statutory list. The categories most likely to affect Little Rock residents include:
- Repair and maintenance work on motor vehicles, appliances, furniture, electronics, jewelry, shoes, and machinery
- Lawn care, landscaping, pest control, janitorial work, and parking-lot cleaning
- Self-storage, motor vehicle parking and storage, and boat docking
- Dry cleaning, pet grooming and kenneling, body piercing, tattooing, and indoor tanning
- Wrecker and towing, locksmith work, security and alarm monitoring, and cable or streaming television
Services not on the list generally aren’t taxable.
Groceries and Prescription Drugs
The state grocery tax is gone. As of January 1, 2026, Arkansas no longer charges any state sales tax on food and food ingredients; Act 1008 eliminated the previous 0.125% state rate that had funded conservation under Amendment 75.4Arkansas General Assembly. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration Fiscal Impact Statement – SB377 Local tax still applies, though, so groceries in Little Rock carry the 1.0% county and 1.125% city portions for a combined 2.125%.
The reduced rate does not cover prepared food, candy, dietary supplements, or alcohol. Those stay at the full 8.625%.
Prescription drugs dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, hospital, or physician for human use are fully exempt from both state and local sales tax, and the exemption extends to oxygen sold on a physician’s prescription.5Justia Law. Arkansas Code 26-52-406 – Prescription Drugs and Oxygen Over-the-counter medications don’t qualify, even when a doctor recommends them.
Restaurants, Hotels, and Bars
Eating out or staying overnight costs more than the base rate suggests. Little Rock’s Advertising and Promotion Commission collects a 2% tax on prepared food and beverages at restaurants, and a 4% tax on lodging at hotels and short-term rentals.6Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau. Tax Information Those sit on top of the 8.625% combined rate, bringing a restaurant meal to 10.625% and a hotel room to 12.625% before any other charges.
Alcohol carries an additional layer. Little Rock imposes a 10% mixed-drink supplemental tax on sales by hotels, restaurants, and bars, with a 5% version for private clubs.7City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates – Mixed Drink Supplemental Tax
Sales Tax Holiday
Arkansas suspends both state and local sales tax for one weekend each summer. In 2026, the holiday runs Saturday, August 1 through Sunday, August 2. Qualifying purchases include:8Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Sales Tax Holiday Instructions 2026
- Clothing and footwear under $100 per item
- Clothing accessories and equipment under $50 per item
- School supplies, art supplies, and instructional materials on the state’s approved list, with no per-item price cap
Items not on the Department of Finance and Administration’s published list remain taxable during the holiday, so check before assuming a purchase qualifies.
Use Tax on Online and Out-of-State Purchases
When a seller doesn’t charge Arkansas sales tax on something you buy, you owe use tax at the same 8.625% combined rate. This applies to purchases from smaller online retailers, out-of-state private sales, and items bought while traveling. Arkansas does not fold use tax into your income tax return; you file a separate Individual Consumer Use Tax Report with the DFA. Filing frequency depends on how much you owe each month: monthly if it exceeds $100, quarterly if it falls between $25 and $100, and annually if it’s under $25.9Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Sales and Use Tax FAQs
Most individuals owe very little, especially now that major online retailers collect Arkansas sales tax automatically. It’s still a legal obligation, and the standard 5%-per-month late penalty applies, capped at 35%.
Registering and Filing as a Business
Any business selling taxable goods or services in Little Rock needs an Arkansas sales tax permit before its first transaction. Registration runs through the DFA’s online portal (ATAP) and costs $50.10Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Register for a Tax Account The state won’t issue a new permit while outstanding tax liabilities are unresolved.
Registered retailers collect the full 8.625% at the point of sale and remit it on a schedule tied to volume: monthly for most, quarterly or annually for very small sellers. Late filing draws a penalty of 5% of the tax due for each month or partial month overdue, capped at 35%, with the same structure applying to late payment.11Code of Arkansas Rules. 26 CAR 30-1218 – Penalties Interest accrues on top of the penalty.
Remote sellers have to collect too. Once an out-of-state retailer hits $100,000 in annual Arkansas sales or 200 transactions in the state, it must collect the full Little Rock combined rate on shipments to city addresses, regardless of physical presence.
Mixed-drink taxes are remitted directly to the city by the 20th of the following month. Late payment triggers a 25% penalty.7City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates – Mixed Drink Supplemental Tax