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Understanding Your Arkansas Property Tax Bill
The deadline to pay your Arkansas property tax bill is quickly approaching, so it is a good time of the year to review some of Arkansas' property tax basics. And don't forget to submit your property tax payment by October 15 to avoid late fees and penalties! In Arkansas, the property tax is a local tax that supports local services. Your property tax payment stays in your community and is a critical source of funding for your public schools and county and city governments. In fact, statewide in 2016, Arkansas public schools received 77% of property tax dollars – about $1.8 billion in funding. County governments received 15% of property tax revenue and cities received 8%. If you are like me, knowing where your property tax dollars go is only half the battle. Understanding how the county actually calculated your tax bill can be fore difficult. |
How does the county calculate my property tax liability?Your property tax liability is determined by the millage rates in your taxing district and the assessed value of your property.
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Let's take a look at the math used for calculating property taxes owed using the example of a property worth $100,000 and millage of 50: Taxes Owed = Assessed Value x Millage Rate Taxes Owed = (Market Value x 20%) x (Millage/1,000) Taxes Owed = ($100,000 x 0.2) x (50/1,000) Taxes Owed = $20,000 x 0.05 = $1,000 As you can see, the owner of this property would owe $1,000 in property taxes. However, if the homeowner is eligible for the Homestead Tax Credit, the amount owed may be reduced. A homeowner paying property taxes on their primary residence may be eligible for a tax credit of $350 or the amount of taxes owed, whichever is less. If we assume that this property owner is eligible for the Homestead Tax Credit, then: Taxes Owed = $1,000 - Homestead Tax Credit Taxes Owed = $1,000 - $350 = $650 Since the homeowner is liable for $1,000 in property taxes, they are eligible for the entire tax credit, reducing taxes due to $650. |
Where's My Property Tax Bill?State law requires your county collector to mail your tax bill by July 1. If you have not received your bill, you should contact your county collector as soon as possible. The state also has a helpful property tax portal: go to https://portal.arkansas.gov/pages/property-tax-center/ and select your county to look up and pay your bill.2 Remember, individual counties are responsible for administering the property tax, so you will need to obtain bills from each county in which you owned property. |
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Additional ResourcesThe information provided here is only a brief overview of Arkansas' property tax. See our fact sheet Administration of Arkansas' Property Tax for more detailed information. Or navigate to https://uaex.uada.edu/propertytaxes to find all of our property tax resources. If you have a question about the content of this post or any of our local government program resources, please contact Tyler Knapp at tknapp@uada.edu or 501-671-2241. |
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