The liquor tax in Little Rock, Arkansas is not a single rate but a stack: a state excise tax on every retail alcohol sale, a state supplemental tax on drinks served on-premises, a separate city supplemental tax on those same drinks, and the regular 8.625% general sales tax on top of all of it. Depending on whether you’re buying a bottle to take home or ordering a cocktail at a bar, the combined rate on a single transaction can run past 20% before general sales tax is even added.
Buying a Bottle to Take Home
Arkansas charges a special excise tax on every retail alcohol sale, collected by the retailer at the register. Liquor, wine, cordials, and mead are taxed at 3% of the retail price. Beer is taxed at 1%.1Justia. Arkansas Code 3-7-201 – Tax Imposed – Collection
That excise tax stacks with, rather than replaces, the general sales tax. In Little Rock the general rate is 8.625%, made up of 6.5% state, 1.0% Pulaski County, and 1.125% city.2City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates So a bottle of wine from a package store carries both the 3% excise and the 8.625% sales tax at the point of sale.1Justia. Arkansas Code 3-7-201 – Tax Imposed – Collection
Ordering a Drink at a Bar or Restaurant
Drinks served for on-premises consumption are taxed under a different scheme. Arkansas imposes a 10% supplemental tax on the gross receipts of on-premises alcohol sales, plus an additional 4% supplemental tax that applies only to spirits. Beer and wine served on-premises escape that extra 4%.3Justia. Arkansas Code 3-9-213 – Gross Receipts and Supplemental Tax
The city layers its own supplemental mixed drink tax on top. Hotels, motels, restaurants, and bars pay 10% to the City of Little Rock. Private clubs pay 5%.2City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates
Put together, here is what the supplemental taxes alone look like on a drink sold on-premises in Little Rock:
- Spirits-based cocktail at a restaurant or bar: 10% state + 4% state + 10% city = 24%
- Spirits-based cocktail at a private club: 10% state + 4% state + 5% city = 19%
- Beer or wine at a restaurant or bar: 10% state + 10% city = 20%
- Beer or wine at a private club: 10% state + 5% city = 15%
The 8.625% general sales tax applies on top of those figures. The state supplemental taxes may be passed through to the customer and replace all other special taxes at the retail level for on-premises sales.3Justia. Arkansas Code 3-9-213 – Gross Receipts and Supplemental Tax
One boundary worth flagging for restaurant operators: the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission’s 2% gross receipts tax applies to prepared food, not to alcohol, though food served alongside drinks still triggers it.4Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tax Information
Where and When to Pay
The state excise tax goes to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. The return and payment are due by the 20th of each month, covering the prior month’s sales.1Justia. Arkansas Code 3-7-201 – Tax Imposed – Collection
The city supplemental mixed drink tax goes separately to the City of Little Rock Treasury Management Division at 500 W. Markham St., Suite 100, Little Rock, AR 72201. Reporting forms are available at (501) 371-4570.2City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Tax Rates The city share is due on the same 20th-of-the-month deadline, and if the 20th falls on a Sunday or holiday, the return must be postmarked by the next business day.5City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Sales Tax Information A single month’s alcohol sales therefore produces two separate returns.
Because the rates differ by beverage type and by whether the sale is on- or off-premises, your point-of-sale records need to break out beer, wine, and spirits, and separate on-premises from retail-to-go. Reconstructing those splits at the end of the month is far harder than capturing them as sales happen.
Penalties for Filing Late
A late state excise return triggers a 10% penalty on the tax owed.1Justia. Arkansas Code 3-7-201 – Tax Imposed – Collection The city’s penalty is steeper: 25% of the delinquent supplemental mixed drink tax, applied the same way to both the 10% and 5% permit holders.5City of Little Rock. Welcome to Little Rock Sales Tax Information
The Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division also conducts routine visits to licensed businesses and can issue citations for violations, with escalation handled through administrative hearings or settlements.6Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Alcoholic Beverage Control Chronic tax non-compliance can put the alcohol permit itself at risk.
How Long to Keep the Records
Arkansas requires tax-related records to be kept for six years.7Code of Arkansas Rules. 26 CAR 9-110 – Records Retention – Time Period That window matches the extended assessment period the Department of Finance and Administration can reach when a return understates tax by 25% or more; the standard assessment window is three years from filing, but significant understatements or a missing return extend or remove that limit.8Justia. Arkansas Code 26-18-306 – Time Limitations for Assessment
Worth archiving for the full six years: monthly sales reports broken out by beverage type, wholesaler purchase invoices, copies of both the state and city returns as filed, and any correspondence with the ABC Division. If your point-of-sale system produces category-level sales reports, export and store them monthly rather than trusting the system to hold the history indefinitely.