Arkansas runs two entirely separate rate schedules depending on how much you earn, with a bracket adjustment that smooths the cliff between them. Almost no other state works this way.
| Gross pay | — |
| Federal income tax | — |
| Social Security6.2% up to $184,500 | — |
| Medicare1.45%, no cap | — |
| State income tax | — |
| 401(k) contribution | — |
| Health and HSA | — |
Useful if you are comparing a job that pays monthly against one that pays every two weeks, or working out what a raise is worth per paycheck.
| Pay schedule | Gross | Take-home |
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Arkansas applies different rate schedules to different income levels. Taxpayers earning above roughly $92,300 use the schedule shown in most published tables — 2% on the first $4,600 and 3.9% above it. Taxpayers below that threshold use a separate low-income table with its own set of bands, stepping through 2%, 3%, 3.4% and 3.9% at much lower thresholds.
Because a hard cutoff between two schedules would create a cliff where earning one more dollar costs hundreds in tax, Arkansas adds a bracket adjustment for taxpayers in a narrow band around the threshold, reducing the tax due to smooth the transition.
This calculator implements the higher-income schedule only. For anyone earning below roughly $92,300 the figure shown is approximate — usually close, but derived from the wrong table. It is the one structural simplification on this site that affects the majority of users of a single state's page, and it is worth knowing before relying on the number.
Arkansas's top marginal rate stood at 6.9% not many years ago. Successive reductions have brought it to 3.9%, one of the lower top rates among states with graduated structures.
The reductions have generally been enacted directly rather than through revenue triggers, and several were applied retroactively to the start of the year in which they passed — so guidance written mid-year is frequently superseded before the year ends.
The standard deduction is $2,470 for a single filer and $4,940 for a couple — among the smallest in the country. The personal exemption is delivered as a $29 credit per person including dependents, which is nominal.
Arkansas's approach is therefore the opposite of Iowa's or Colorado's: rather than a generous allowance against a moderate rate, it applies a low rate to nearly all of your income. At $60,000 a single filer is taxed on $57,530, which at 3.9% on the portion above $4,600 produces a bill near $2,160 — an effective rate around 3.6% of gross.
No Arkansas city or county levies an income tax. Arkansas has also reduced and largely eliminated the state-level sales tax on groceries, though local sales tax rates remain and push combined rates above 9% in much of the state.
It applies different rate schedules above and below roughly $92,300 of net income, with a bracket adjustment smoothing the transition so that crossing the threshold does not create a cliff.
It implements the higher-income schedule. Below roughly $92,300 the figure is approximate — usually close, but derived from the schedule that does not apply to you.
3.9%, down from 6.9% in recent years through a series of reductions, several applied retroactively.
No city or county levies one.