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Arkansas Paycheck Calculator (2026)

Enter your annual salary below to see your Arkansas take-home pay after federal, state, FICA, and any local taxes for 2026.

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Quick answer

Arkansas applies a progressive state income tax topping at 3.9% after several recent rate-reduction reforms. At $85,000 single, the after-tax estimate is $65,829 per year, with the marginal state rate at 3.9%. No Arkansas city or county adds a separate wage tax.

Three brackets structure Arkansas's progressive state income tax, with the top 3.9% rate kicking in early in the schedule, so most full-time AR wage earners pay close to the top marginal rate on the majority of their income. The state's economic identity centers on Northwest Arkansas: Bentonville is home to Walmart's global headquarters, with Tyson Foods anchored south in Springdale and JB Hunt logistics headquartered in Lowell. Three Fortune 500 companies clustering within the same metropolitan area is structurally rare. Little Rock holds state government, the regional healthcare hub centered on UAMS, and Heifer International's headquarters. Fort Smith carries manufacturing on the western border, and Jonesboro anchors the eastern delta near Memphis. Arkansas runs no SDI program, no Paid Family Leave deduction, and no city or county wage tax in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Springdale, or Bentonville. At $85,000 for a single filer, federal income tax lands at $9,870, state income tax at $2,799, combined FICA at $6,503, and take-home for the year at $65,829. The effective total rate is 22.55%. Use the calculator below to compare Arkansas against neighboring Missouri, Texas, or Louisiana.

Arkansas state tax breakdown

Single-filer state income tax brackets used by the calculator for 2026.

Taxable IncomeRate
$0 - $5,6000%
$5,600 - $11,2002%
$11,200 - $16,0003%
$16,000 - $26,4003.4%
$26,400+3.9%

vs. baseline ($85,000 single filer)

A $85,000 salary in Arkansas takes home approximately $2,800 less than the same salary in a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida.

What this estimate includes

This calculator computes Arkansas take-home pay using 2026 federal brackets after the standard deduction, FICA contributions (Social Security at the federal rate up to the annual wage base, Medicare on all wages, plus the Additional Medicare Tax above the filing-status threshold), Arkansas's state income tax schedule above, and any local income tax or state-administered payroll program (SDI, PFML, FAMLI) when you select a city or county. For states with no broad-based personal income tax, the state line is zero. It excludes employer-side payroll taxes, custom W-4 elections, supplemental-wage handling for bonuses or equity vesting, and income from sources other than W-2 wages.

Arkansas paycheck FAQ

What is the federal tax bill on $85,000 single in Arkansas for 2026?
A $85,000 single filer in Arkansas owes approximately $9,870 in federal income tax, with the top slice of taxable income inside the 22% federal bracket after the standard deduction. Federal mechanics apply identically across all states, so an Arkansas resident sees the same federal line as a Missouri or Louisiana counterpart at this gross.
How much Arkansas state tax does someone owe on $85,000?
Arkansas state income tax at $85,000 for a single filer is approximately $2,799, an effective state rate of 3.29%. The marginal rate at the top slice is 3.9%, the schedule's headline figure. Because the top bracket starts so low on the schedule, most of the salary range pays the top rate. No SDI deduction applies.
Do Little Rock, Fayetteville, or any other Arkansas city tax wages?
Cities and counties in Arkansas do not levy a separate income tax on wages. Little Rock, Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, Fort Smith, and Jonesboro residents all see the same state line on the pay stub. Sales tax (combined state-and-local) sits among the higher figures in the South, but it does not appear in paycheck withholding.
How much does a 401(k) contribution save at $85,000 in Arkansas?
At $85,000 single in Arkansas, the combined marginal rate is 25.9% (federal 22% plus state 3.9%). Each dollar of traditional 401(k) or HSA contribution shrinks both federal and Arkansas taxable income at that combined rate. Because the top state bracket starts so low, most of the salary range pays the top rate, so the per-dollar saving stays stable.
What changes for married filing jointly, head of household, or filing separately at $85,000 in Arkansas?
A joint return at $85,000 in Arkansas produces take-home of about $69,955, roughly $4,126 more than the single estimate. Wider federal MFJ brackets and the doubled federal standard deduction drive the change; Arkansas applies the same bracket schedule to joint filers, so the state line moves only because federal-side AGI shifts. Head of Household at this income lands at about $68,751, about $2,922 more than Single, entirely from the wider federal HoH bracket schedule, since Arkansas DFA Form AR1000F routes HoH through Single. MFS uses Arkansas's Single schedule as well; combined two-return take-home runs roughly $4,126 less than MFJ.
How does Arkansas compare to Missouri at $85,000?
Missouri runs a progressive schedule topping near Arkansas's top rate, but Missouri allows a partial federal-tax deduction on the state return that Arkansas does not. The take-home difference between Arkansas and Missouri at $85,000 single is roughly $189 per year. Federal tax and FICA are identical between the two states.

Take-home at common salaries for Arkansas

Dedicated salary-anchor pages with a federal-state-FICA breakdown, vs-baseline callouts, and a calculator pre-set to that salary and Arkansas.

$50,000 after taxesin Arkansas$75,000 after taxesin Arkansas$100,000 after taxesin Arkansas$150,000 after taxesin Arkansas$200,000 after taxesin Arkansas$250,000 after taxesin Arkansas

See also

Start from the full US take-home calculatorTennessee take-home, for comparisonCompare to the Texas paycheck calculatorCompare to the Missouri paycheck calculatorRun the same numbers against LouisianaOklahoma take-home, for comparisonArkansas hourly pay, by pay periodSee how a bonus is withheld in ArkansasArkansas self-employed take-home, both FICA halvesSee how two locations compare on take-homePaycheck and tax glossaryHow these estimates are built, line by line

Reviewed

How This Page Is Reviewed

The Arkansas paycheck page is reviewed against primary federal and state sources before each major tax-year update. Source links below are the references used to validate brackets, wage bases, and supported local taxes.

Reviewed by

PaycheckCalc Research Desk

Last reviewed

2026-07-10