Arkansas calendar and forms

The Arkansas return is due April 15, 2027, the same day as the federal one, and the four estimated payments fall on the federal dates. The one date Arkansas keeps for itself is the extension. A federal Form 4868 extension is honored automatically, no copy needed, just a box checked on the return, and it carries the Arkansas return not to October 15 but one month later, to November 15, 2027. Like every extension, it is an extension of time to file. Tax not paid by April 15 draws a 1%-a-month penalty and 10% annual interest from April 15, extension or not.

The form list is long because Arkansas builds its return from its own income lines and keeps its own versions of deductions the federal return dropped years ago. Most filers still touch three or four pieces of paper: the AR1000F, the AR1000ADJ for adjustments, the AR1000TC for a credit, and Schedule AR1000D for a gain. The rest is for people who itemize, moved, paid for child care or owe estimates.

The 2027 filing season, dated

How the extension works

Arkansas honors an accepted federal extension. If you filed Form 4868, you file nothing with Arkansas; you check the extension box on the front of the AR1000F, and the Department does not want a copy. The extended due date is one month after the federal one, November 15. Without a federal extension, Form AR1055-IT postmarked by April 15 gives the same 210 days. Neither route extends the time to pay, and DFA’s instructions say inability to pay is not a reason for an extension. Paying late costs 1% of the unpaid tax per month plus 10% a year interest from April 15; missing the extended deadline too adds a failure-to-file penalty of 5% per month, the two capped together at 35% of the tax. Pay the estimate by April 15, through ATAP or with the Form AR1000V voucher (verify that AR1000V is used for an extension payment), and file when the return is ready.

Estimated payments

Arkansas expects estimated payments when you will owe $1,000 or more after withholding and credits, unless those reach one of two safe harbors: 90% of this year’s tax, or 100% of last year’s if that return covered twelve months. Payments go in on Form AR1000ES or through ATAP, in four installments or all at once by April 15. The underpayment penalty is 10%, figured on Form AR2210. Arkansas has no higher safe-harbor tier for high earners. Who gets caught: the self-employed, landlords, anyone with a large gain or a Roth conversion, and retirees whose pension payer does not withhold Arkansas tax; a single retiree with a $50,000 pension and no withholding owes about $1,100 at filing (verify against the 2026 table), enough to trigger the penalty. See Estimated payments and Arkansas for retirees.

The forms, in the order a filer meets them

Filing free

Arkansas belongs to the Free File Alliance and runs no filing program of its own. Six providers offer free federal-plus-Arkansas filing to people who meet their limits, which for the 2025 return were: TaxAct, AGI of $89,000 or less and age 20 to 60; OLT.com and FreeTaxUSA, AGI of $51,000 or less; 1040Now, $32,000 or less; TaxSlayer, $19,000 to $89,000 and age 67 or under; 1040.com, $18,100 to $89,000. Active-duty military with AGI of $89,000 or less qualify with most. The limits reset each season, the free version is free only if you reach the provider through DFA’s link, and DFA endorses none of them. IRS Direct File was not offered for the 2026 season, and Arkansas never took part in it.

Paying, and checking a refund

The Arkansas Taxpayer Access Point, ATAP, at atap.arkansas.gov, is where payments, estimated payments and refund status live, and checking a refund needs no account. The Department has 90 days from the later of the due date or the filing date to issue a refund without interest, and it warns that identity-theft screening can slow refunds; direct deposit is faster, but no date is promised.

On paper, a return with a payment, or with neither tax nor refund, goes to Arkansas State Income Tax, P.O. Box 2144, Little Rock, AR 72203-2144, with Form AR1000V and a check payable to the Department of Finance and Administration. A refund return goes to P.O. Box 1000, Little Rock, AR 72203-1000. The Individual Income Tax hotline is (501) 682-1100 or (800) 882-9275, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; TTY (800) 285-1131. The walk-in office at 1816 W. 7th Street, Suite 2300, Little Rock answers questions but does not prepare returns.