Before you start

An SSN or ITIN
Form W-4 with your employer for federal withholding, and Arkansas Form AR4EC for state withholding
Records of foreign income and foreign financial accounts
A county personal property assessment, if you own a vehicle

Step-by-step

1
Complete the W-4 and Arkansas's AR4EC on day one
Arkansas has its own employee withholding exemption certificate alongside the federal W-4. The state adjusted its withholding tables when the rate changed, so check that your first payslip reflects the current rate rather than an older table.
Via employerWho: YouFirst week of employment
2
Determine your US tax residency
The substantial presence test counts weighted days over three years to decide whether the US taxes your worldwide income or only US-source income. Your visa category does not decide this.
OnlineWho: You
3
Check for an applicable tax treaty
The US has treaties with around 70 countries that can reduce or exempt tax on particular income. Arkansas builds its return from federal figures, so a federal treaty exclusion generally carries through, but check rather than assume.
OnlineWho: You
4
File federal and Arkansas returns by 15 April
The tax year is the calendar year and both returns are due on the same date. With a low flat-ish top rate and no local layer, the Arkansas return is among the shorter state returns in the country.
OnlineWho: YouBy 15 April annually
5
Assess your vehicles with the county between 1 January and 31 May
This is the tax calendar item that catches every newcomer. It is a county filing, not a state one, it recurs every year, and a 10% penalty applies if you miss the window. The tag renewal is blocked until the assessment and the tax payment are both on record.
In personWho: You1 January – 31 May annually
6
File an FBAR if foreign accounts exceed $10,000
Aggregate foreign account balances over $10,000 at any point in the year trigger a FinCEN filing, separate from and additional to your tax return.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Form W-2 from each employer, issued by 31 January
Form 1099s for freelance, interest and investment income
Arkansas Form AR4EC, filed with your employer
Passport and travel history for the substantial presence day count
County personal property assessment and paid-tax receipt, if you own a vehicle
Foreign account statements for FBAR reporting

Things most newcomers don’t know

The rate is 3.7%, and it has moved four times in a decade.

Arkansas cut the top individual rate to 3.7% effective 1 January 2026 in a special session, from 3.9% set in 2024, 4.4% before that, and 7% as recently as 2015. The Senate's own account describes the rates as the lowest since the income tax was enacted in 1929. Anything you read about Arkansas tax written more than a year ago is out of date, and that includes most comparison sites.

Source: Arkansas Senate — 2026 special session

No Arkansas city or county levies an income tax.

A Little Rock payslip carries one state line and nothing municipal. That is a real structural difference from Ohio and Michigan, where the local tax follows your workplace, from Indiana, where the county tax follows your home, and from Missouri, where Kansas City and St. Louis run their own earnings taxes. If you are weighing a Little Rock offer against a midwestern one, compare the total wage tax rather than the state headline.

Source: Arkansas DFA — individual income tax

The grocery tax cut was smaller than the headlines.

Arkansas's state reduced rate on food and food ingredients became 0.000% on 1 January 2026, which is real. But city and county rates were untouched, so food in Little Rock still carries 2.125% and in North Little Rock 3.000%. 'Arkansas eliminated the grocery tax' is the version that travels; the local half of it did not go anywhere.

Source: Arkansas DFA — state sales and use tax rates

Cross the river and the sales tax jumps almost a point.

Little Rock's combined rate is 8.625% and North Little Rock's is 9.5%, because the city rate is 1.125% on one side and 2.000% on the other. Jacksonville and Sherwood are also at 9.5%. On a large purchase in a metro where people cross the bridge without thinking about it, that is a real difference — and the rate that applies is where the sale happens.

Source: Arkansas DFA — city and county sales and use tax rates

Common mistakes to avoid

Using a rate from a comparison site written before the January 2026 cut.
Assuming groceries are untaxed because the state rate went to zero. The local rate did not.
Missing the 31 May county assessment deadline and collecting a 10% penalty.
Comparing an Arkansas offer against an Ohio or Missouri one on the state rate alone.
Assuming your visa type settles your tax residency.
Missing the FBAR because a home-country account did not feel 'foreign'.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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