Arkansas Paycheck Calculator
Using 2026 federal and Arkansas tax figures · last checked
Short answer
A $60,000 salary in Arkansas takes home about $47,090 a year — roughly $3,924 a month — after $5,020 federal income tax and $4,590 in Social Security and Medicare, plus $3,300 in Arkansas state income tax. That is an effective rate of 21.5%. Figures assume a single filer taking the standard deduction, with no pre-tax deductions.
Enter a gross figure and see the Arkansas version of the same arithmetic every payroll department runs — federal tax by filing status, Social Security, Medicare, then an AR state deduction. Every line is shown, so you can check the one you care about rather than trusting a single total.
Before any deductions.
Estimated take-home pay
$1,580.85
- Gross pay
- $2,000.00
- Federal income tax
- −$156.15
- Social Security
- −$124.00
- Medicare
- −$29.00
- Arkansas state tax
- −$110.00
- Total withheld
- −$419.15
Figures on this page are estimates produced from the inputs you provide. A pay stub you generate documents what you enter; it is not a verified employment record issued by an employer. If you need official proof of income, request it from your employer or download your wage transcript free from the IRS.
Arkansas income tax brackets
| Rate | Taxable income |
|---|---|
| 0% | $0 – $4,999 |
| 2% | $5,000 – $9,999 |
| 3% | $10,000 – $14,299 |
| 3.4% | $14,300 – $23,599 |
| 4.4% | $23,600+ |
Minimum wage in Arkansas: $11.00/hr
What comes out of every paycheck
Two of the deductions are the same everywhere and do not depend on Arkansas at all. Social Security takes 6.2% of wages up to $184,500 in a year and stops; Medicare takes 1.45% with no ceiling, plus a further 0.9% on earnings above $200,000. Together they are usually the second largest line after federal income tax.
Arkansas recently lowered its top tax rate from 4.9% to 4.4% as part of a phased reduction. The state has five brackets, but the first $5,000 is tax-free for most filers.
Arkansas Tax Brackets Explained
Arkansas has been cutting its income tax rates year after year. The top rate dropped to 4.4% in 2026 — down from 6.9% just five years earlier. The first $4,999 is completely exempt from state tax, which means part-time workers and minimum wage earners often owe little or nothing to the state. The brackets apply to net income after the standard deduction of $2,270 for single filers. For households in Little Rock, Fayetteville, or Fort Smith, the effective rate on a $50,000 salary works out to roughly 3.2% once you factor in the zero bracket and deductions.
Paycheck Deductions in Arkansas
Your Arkansas paycheck will show federal income tax, FICA (Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45%), and Arkansas state income tax. The state does not have any mandatory disability insurance or paid leave programs that add extra line items. Some employers in northwest Arkansas — particularly in the Walmart and Tyson Foods corridor — offer profit-sharing and stock purchase plans that show up as additional deductions. For hourly warehouse workers, overtime frequently pushes them into a higher bracket on those particular checks.
Take-home pay at common salaries in Arkansas
Doubling a salary does not double what reaches your account. As income rises it crosses into higher bands, so the effective rate in Arkansas moves from 19.7% at the bottom of this table to 29.6% at the top.
Hourly rates in Arkansas
For hourly work the useful figure is the annual one, because that is what the brackets act on. $25 an hour in Arkansas, at 2,080 hours, is approximately $41,102 after tax.
| Hourly | Annual gross | Annual take-home | Net per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15/hr | $31,200 | $25,533 | $12.28 |
| $17/hr | $35,360 | $28,647 | $13.77 |
| $25/hr | $52,000 | $41,102 | $19.76 |
| $30/hr | $62,400 | $48,886 | $23.50 |
| $40/hr | $83,200 | $62,785 | $30.19 |
| $50/hr | $104,000 | $76,274 | $36.67 |
Based on 2,080 hours a year — 40 hours a week, 52 weeks. Excludes overtime and unpaid leave.
How filing status changes it
Filing status changes the answer more than most people expect. The same $60,000 produces different take-home depending on how you file, because each status carries its own standard deduction and its own bracket thresholds. Here the spread runs to $2,180, with Married filing jointly keeping the most.
| Filing status | Federal tax | Take-home |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $5,020 | $47,090 |
| Married filing jointly | $2,840 | $49,270 |
| Married filing separately | $5,020 | $47,090 |
| Head of household | $3,948 | $48,162 |
On a $60,000 salary in Arkansas.
How accurate is this estimate?
The number this produces is the tax arithmetic and nothing else. Real stubs carry more: employer benefit deductions, retirement contributions, and any adjustment your W-4 requests. Each of those moves the total, so use this to sanity-check the shape of a stub rather than to match it to the cent.
Arkansas paycheck questions
What is Arkansas's top income tax rate in 2026?
The top marginal rate is 4.4%, which applies to taxable income above $23,600 for individuals.
Does Arkansas tax Social Security?
No. Arkansas fully exempts Social Security benefits from state income tax for all residents regardless of income level.
How pay frequency changes your cheque
People often ask whether switching to fortnightly pay costs them more tax. It does not. Across a full year in Arkansas the total is the same; the difference is cash-flow, not liability. These are the per-cheque figures on $60,000, filing single.
| Paid | Cheques/yr | Gross each | Take-home each |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | 52 | $1,154 | $906 |
| Every two weeks | 26 | $2,308 | $1,811 |
| Twice a month | 24 | $2,500 | $1,962 |
| Monthly | 12 | $5,000 | $3,924 |
Turn this into a pay stub
If you need the figures written up as a pay stub — for a landlord, a lender, or your own records — you can carry these numbers straight into the generator. It documents what you enter; it is not an employment record issued by an employer.
Open the pay stub generatorIf you need official proof of income
The free routes come first. Payroll departments must retain wage records and will usually reissue stubs on request. Failing that, the IRS provides a wage and income transcript free of charge. Both are independently verifiable in a way a document you produce yourself is not. Get an IRS transcript.