Key figures
Arkansas accounting
2026, with sources
Graduated rates topping out at 4.3%
Arkansas still taxes corporations on a graduated schedule: 1% on the first $3,000 of net income, 2% on the next $3,000, 3% on the next $5,000 and 4.3% above $11,000, the top rate for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024. The return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month — April 15 for a calendar-year company — and Arkansas follows the federal automatic extension plus one month.
Corporations also pay an annual franchise tax to the Secretary of State, due May 1, measured on capital stock rather than income. It belongs in operating expense, not the income tax provision.
Fixed-date conformity and short NOLs
Arkansas is not a rolling-conformity state for depreciation: it uses IRC sections 167 and 168 as of January 1, 2019, allows no bonus depreciation, and follows Section 179 as of January 1, 2022. Its NOL carryforward is 10 years for losses from 2021 on, against the federal indefinite carryforward with an 80% limit.
For a startup that will lose money for several years, that means Arkansas NOL deferred tax assets need their own expiry schedule. A loss from 2021 expires after 2031 in Arkansas while the federal loss lives on.
Single sales factor, market sourcing from Act 719
Arkansas has apportioned with a single sales factor since tax years beginning in 2021. Act 719 of 2025 (SB 567) then amended Arkansas’s UDITPA provisions to adopt market-based sourcing for services and intangibles and set an economic-nexus filing threshold for non-resident corporations. For a SaaS company the effect is that Arkansas income follows Arkansas customers: a company in Bentonville with 4% of its revenue from Arkansas customers apportions about 4% of its income to Arkansas.
Deadlines
- 15th day of the 4th month after year end (Apr 15)Arkansas corporation income tax returnAR1100CT
- May 1Annual franchise tax report to the Secretary of State
The federal baseline
This page covers what Arkansas adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Does Arkansas follow federal bonus depreciation?
No. Arkansas does not allow bonus depreciation; it follows IRC sections 167 and 168 as in effect on January 1, 2019, with its own Section 179 conformity date. Every asset a startup bonus-depreciates federally has a separate, slower Arkansas schedule, and the difference is a state deferred tax item.
How long do Arkansas NOLs last?
Ten years for losses from tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, eight years for 2020 losses, and five years before that. Unlike the federal indefinite carryforward, an Arkansas loss can expire — which matters for a startup that will be loss-making for most of a decade.
Accounting next door
- MOMissouri accountingMissouri taxes corporations at a flat 4% on income apportioned by a single sales factor, with services sourced to the customer. There is no franchise tax.
- TNTennessee accountingTennessee taxes corporations through a 6.5% excise tax on earnings and a 0.25% franchise tax on net worth, apportioned on a single sales factor from 2025, with the property measure repealed in 2024.
- MSMississippi accountingMississippi taxes corporate income at 0% on the first $5,000, 4% on the next $5,000 and 5% above, keeps a throwback rule, and is phasing out its franchise tax: $0.50 per $1,000 of capital in 2026, repealed from 2028.
- LALouisiana accountingLouisiana taxes corporate income at a flat 5.5% from 2025 and repealed its capital-based franchise tax for periods from 2026. The CIFT-620 is due May 15 for calendar-year companies.
- TXTexas accountingTexas has no corporate income tax. It taxes a company’s margin through the franchise tax, at 0.75%, and nothing is due below $2,650,000 of revenue for 2026 and 2027 reports.
- OKOklahoma accountingOklahoma taxes corporations at a flat 4%, apportions by three equal factors, repealed its franchise tax after 2023, and wants Form 512 30 days after the federal due date.
Founder guides on this
- US GAAPUS GAAP for early-stage startups, in plain EnglishAccrual accounting, revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), stock compensation and capitalized software: what each means for a small company.
- R&D taxThe R&D tax credit and Section 174A for startupsEngineering salaries can earn a federal R&D credit against payroll tax, and Section 174A lets you deduct US research again. What qualifies, what to track.
- FundraisingAudit-ready books before your Series AInvestors, lenders and auditors ask for the same things: accrual statements, reconciled accounts and support for every balance. How to be ready first.
More of the Arkansas guide
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in ArkansasSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in ArkansasPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in ArkansasWithholding, unemployment insurance, paid leave, minimum wage and the rules on paydays
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in ArkansasRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in ArkansasCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.