2026 Arkansas withholding
Arkansas hourly paycheck calculator
Your rate and your hours in, one paycheck out. Arkansas runs a six-step formula: brackets up to 3.9%, a $2,470 standard deduction, then a $29 credit per exemption.
That is $1,600.00 of gross pay per paycheck, $41,600.00 a year. Overtime, shift differentials and unpaid weeks are not modelled — enter the hours you are actually paid for.
Take-home pay
per paycheck · $34,527.74 a year
- Gross pay
- $1,600.00
- Federal income tax
- −$108.15
- Social Security
- −$99.20
- Medicare
- −$23.20
- State income tax
- −$41.46
- Total withheld
- $272.01
17.0% of gross goes to taxes. 2026 rates. Estimate only — your employer's payroll may differ.
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At 40 hours a week
What each rate actually pays in Arkansas
| An hour | A year, before tax | Take-home a year | Every 2 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $26,577 | $1,022 |
| $18 | $37,440 | $31,349 | $1,206 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $34,528 | $1,328 |
| $22 | $45,760 | $37,710 | $1,450 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $42,479 | $1,634 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $50,430 | $1,940 |
| $35 | $72,800 | $57,750 | $2,221 |
40 hours a week, 52 weeks, filing single, paid every two weeks, no pre-tax deductions and no dependents. 2026 rates. Overtime, tips and unpaid weeks are not modelled.
What comes out
What an hour's pay loses in Arkansas
- Arkansas does not withhold from a simple rate. The state publishes a formula: annualise your pay, subtract a $2,470 standard deduction, apply the bracket rate, subtract a bracket adjustment, then subtract $29 a year for each exemption on Form AR4EC. This calculator assumes one exemption.
- The brackets top out at 3.90%, and the first $5,599 of net taxable income is taxed at 0%.
- A quirk worth knowing: below $100,001 the state rounds your annual taxable income to the midpoint of its $100 band before taxing it — so $23,054 is taxed as $23,050. It can move your withholding by a few dollars a year in either direction.
- Between $94,701 and $97,800 the bracket adjustment is clawed back $10 at a time, band by band, until it settles at $89.30. That stretch is effectively a hidden extra rate on income in that range.
- ⚠️ If you live in Texarkana there is a separate form, AR4EC(TX), and a border-city exemption. This calculator uses the ordinary Arkansas formula.
- Federal income tax and FICA still come out of every paycheck — see the breakdown above.
Common questions
Hourly pay in Arkansas
How much is $20 an hour after taxes in Arkansas?
At 40 hours a week, $20 an hour is $41,600 a year before tax. Filing single with no pre-tax deductions, roughly $34,528 of that is take-home pay in Arkansas — about $1,328 in each biweekly paycheck. Your own figure moves with your W-4, your benefits and the hours you actually work.
Is hourly pay taxed differently from a salary in Arkansas?
No. Withholding is worked out from what you are paid in the period, not from how the job describes the pay. An hourly worker and a salaried worker who take home the same gross in the same period have the same federal tax, the same FICA and the same state withholding. The difference is that hourly pay varies week to week, so the withheld amount varies with it.
Does this include overtime?
No. Enter the hours you are actually paid for and the calculator uses that. Overtime, shift differentials, tips and bonuses are paid under their own rules — a bonus in particular is often withheld at a flat supplemental rate rather than through the normal tables, which is why it lands smaller than people expect.
What if my hours change every week?
Withholding is calculated fresh each payroll run, so a heavy week is withheld as though every week were that heavy, and a light week the other way. Over a year it roughly averages out, and the difference is settled on your tax return. Enter a typical week to see a typical paycheck.
Sources for these rates
- Arkansas DFA — Withholding Tax Formula Method, effective 01/01/2026
- Arkansas DFA — withholding tax forms and instructions
- IRS Publication 15-T (2026) — federal percentage method
- IRS Publication 15 (2026) — Social Security and Medicare
Tax year 2026. Rates last checked 2026-08-20. Estimates only — not tax, payroll or legal advice.
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