Arkansas Bonus Tax Calculator 2026

3.9%, with a warning built in

Arkansas DFA's Withholding Tax Instructions for Employers (effective January 1, 2026) tell employers to "deduct 3.9% of the bonus or commission for state income tax." On a $5,000 bonus that is $195.00; on $10,000, $390.00. The same paragraph tells employers to "advise your employees that the 3.9% deduction could in some cases be over-withholding," and that any excess "cannot be recovered until the employee files the Arkansas income tax return."

In other words, the 3.9% is a convenience rate, not a calculation of your Arkansas tax: whatever is withheld beyond your actual liability comes back only when you file.

How the instruction is worded

The 3.9% rule appears under the heading for bonuses, commissions or overtime "paid at the same time as regular wages." Arkansas publishes no separate figure for a bonus issued on its own date, so payroll systems apply the same 3.9% to a stand-alone bonus check. Vacation pay received in addition to regular pay is treated as a supplemental wage payment too.

Your AR4EC and regular paychecks

Regular Arkansas withholding is figured from the tax tables (daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly) or the withholding formula, using the exemptions on Form AR4EC. Employees who qualify can file Form AR4ECSP to be exempt from withholding. Neither form changes the 3.9% applied to a bonus or commission, which is why an employee's regular paycheck rate and bonus rate rarely match.