Taxes in Fort Smith
Fort Smith's tax picture combines a genuinely low effective property tax rate with Arkansas's real, statewide falling income tax and a substantial combined sales tax.
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Learn moreA genuinely low effective property tax rate
Fort Smith's effective property tax rate ran approximately 1.05% (Ownwell's cited Sebastian County median), with real, disclosed zip-level variance from approximately $575/year (72904) to approximately $1,924/year (72916).
Arkansas's real, current falling income tax
Arkansas's top individual income tax rate runs 3.7% for 2026 -- the fourth consecutive annual cut since 2022 (down from 5.9%) -- alongside a full Social Security exemption and a $6,000 retirement-income exclusion for filers 59.5+.
A real, substantial 9.5% combined sales tax
Fort Smith's combined sales tax runs 9.5% (6.5% state + 1% Sebastian County + 2% city) -- a real, substantial rate this record discloses as a genuine trade-off against the low property and falling income tax.
Key takeaways
- Fort Smith's effective property tax rate (~1.05%) runs genuinely low nationally.
- Arkansas's top income tax rate (3.7%, 2026) has fallen for four consecutive years.
- Fort Smith's 9.5% combined sales tax is a real, substantial cost trade-off.
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