Key figures
Arkansas payables
2026, with sources
1099s go to Arkansas by January 31
Arkansas wants the state copies of Forms 1099, with a photocopy of the federal Form 1096, by January 31 — alongside the W-2s and the ARW-3 transmittal. Employers and payers with volume can upload bulk files through ATAP. The annual AR3MAR reconciliation follows by February 28.
A startup paying five contractors files their 1099-NECs with the IRS and sends the Arkansas copies to DFA on the same January 31 deadline; there is no separate Arkansas threshold to track.
Use tax
Arkansas use tax is 6.5%, the same as the sales tax rate, plus the city and county tax where the items are first delivered. It applies to taxable items bought outside Arkansas without Arkansas tax — typically hardware, and specified digital products and digital codes, which Arkansas taxes. Businesses registered for sales tax report it on their regular return.
Vendor checks
Uncashed vendor checks are unclaimed property, reported to the Auditor of State by November 1 — and Arkansas requires a negative report if there are none.
Deadlines
- Jan 31State copies of W-2s and 1099s, with a copy of federal Form 1096ARW-3
- Feb 28Annual withholding reconciliationAR3MAR
The federal baseline
This page covers what Arkansas adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
Common questions
Do I file 1099s with Arkansas?
Yes. Arkansas asks for the state copies of 1099s, along with a photocopy of the federal Form 1096, by January 31 — the same date as the W-2s and ARW-3. Bulk files go through ATAP.
When do we owe Arkansas use tax?
On tangible goods and specified digital products bought without Arkansas tax, yes: 6.5% state plus the city and county tax where the items are first delivered in Arkansas. Hosted SaaS is not in Arkansas’s list of taxable items, so most subscriptions carry no use tax.
Payables next door
- MOMissouri payablesMissouri wants its own copy of 1099s for Missouri-source payments of $1,200 or more, by February 28, filed directly with the DOR.
- TNTennessee payablesTennessee has no state 1099 filing and no contractor withholding; the payables issue is use tax, which reaches the SaaS tools a startup buys because remotely accessed software is taxable here.
- MSMississippi payablesMississippi takes 1099s for personal services only at $3,000 or more, due February 28, and since 2023 exempts software hosted outside the state from use tax, leaving use tax mainly for goods and downloads.
- LALouisiana payablesLouisiana wants every 1099-NEC by February 28, through CF/SF or LaWage, and since 2025 software purchases carry state and parish use tax when the vendor did not charge it.
- TXTexas payablesNo state 1099s and no contractor withholding. What Texas does reach in payables is use tax on untaxed software and TWC’s direction-or-control test for contractors.
- OKOklahoma payablesOklahoma classifies workers with a common-law control test, and use tax reaches tangible goods bought without Oklahoma tax rather than most SaaS.
More of the Arkansas guide
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in ArkansasCorporate tax, conformity to federal rules, apportionment and what it does to your books
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in ArkansasSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- 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.