Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Arkansas has no estate tax for a person who dies in 2026. The Department of Finance and Administration says “Act 645 of 2003 repealed Arkansas Estate Tax” for estates of those who died on or after January 1, 2005. The federal exclusion is $15,000,000 for 2026.
Deeding a home to a family member while you are alive? What Arkansas requires, from its own documents: Arkansas quitclaim deed requirements.
Making a gift or planning an estate? The state’s gift tax answer, from its own tax documents: Does Arkansas have a gift tax?.
Arkansas estate tax at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| State estate tax | None |
| Why | Act 645 of 2003 repealed the estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2005 |
| State estate tax return | None required for any decedent after December 31, 2004 |
| State inheritance tax | See the Arkansas inheritance tax page |
| Federal estate tax basic exclusion amount, 2026 | $15,000,000 |
| Source | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration; IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 |
Why Arkansas has no estate tax
The Department’s Subject 605 page adds the filing consequence: “No estate tax return is required by the State of Arkansas” for any decedent after December 31, 2004. Before that, the Department’s 2004 return form shows the tax was a credit-based tax: it was set equal to the federal credit for state death taxes.
Does Arkansas have an inheritance tax?
CMG’s Arkansas inheritance tax page answers the inheritance tax question for Arkansas.
What applies to an Arkansas estate instead
Federal estate tax is separate. Revenue Procedure 2025-32 says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, section 70106, increased the “basic exclusion amount to $15,000,000 for calendar year 2026”.
An estate of $3,000,000 in Arkansas owes $0 of state estate tax, and $3,000,000 is below the federal $15,000,000.
Probate: Arkansas probate cost. Retirement accounts: how Arkansas taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals.
Common mistakes
- Filing or looking for an Arkansas estate tax return for a death after 2004; the Department says none is required.
- Assuming the state answer settles the federal one, or the answer for property held in another state.
Related: estate tax by state, inheritance tax by state, and probate cost by state.
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Answer againSources
- Subject 605, Estate Tax (Revised 12/22/2020): https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/605-EstateTax.pdf
- Estate Tax Return AR321 2004: https://dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/AR321_2004.pdf
- Revenue Procedure 2025-32 (Internal Revenue Service): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and an estate attorney, a tax preparer or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.