Arkansas property tax appeals
Review the sourced process overview below, then get the Arkansas DIY Appeal Kit with an evidence workbook, filing controls, official links, and an editable appeal letter in one PDF. No parcel-specific comps.
How a Arkansas appeal actually works
Every statement below is cited to its primary source and shows the date we verified it. Where we could not confirm something from a primary source, we say so instead of guessing. Dataset last re-verified 2026-08-13.
Missed the main deadline? Arkansas has 6 remedies most homeowners never hear about
County pages rarely surface these. Each one is a distinct legal route with its own clock.
Amendment 79 Homestead Property Tax Credit
A credit against real property taxes on the owner's principal place of residence (may be held in a revocable or irrevocable trust; also available to a buyer under a recorded sales contract or a holder of a recorded life estate). Only one homestead credit per owner per year. Applied by the county assessor. CURRENT AMOUNT per ACD/DFA: up to $500 per year, and 'Beginning with the 2026 tax bills the general assembly has authorized an increase up to $600.' Do not cite older figures - ACD's 2023 FAQ still says $375, which is stale.
When:
primary source · verified
Amendment 79 assessed-value FREEZE for homeowners age 65+ or disabled
Major commercial hook. A homeowner who qualifies for the homestead credit AND is age 65 or older OR disabled may have the TAXABLE assessed value of the homestead frozen at its value as of the next assessment date after the owner turns 65 / becomes disabled - or, for a qualifying purchaser, the next assessment date after purchase. The owner must APPLY with the county assessor; ACD notes the assessor ordinarily has no way to know of eligibility unless the taxpayer claims it, and the collector must send an annual notice of Amendment 79 rights with the assessor's contact info. The freeze does not transfer to a subsequent owner on sale. Frozen value can still change if a reassessment lowers the taxable assessed value, if the owner ceases to qualify, or by adding the full assessed value of substantial improvements (renovation/reconstruction/refurbishment adding 25%+ of value). Millage changes can still move the tax bill.
When:
primary source · verified
Correction of actual and obvious errors
Errors in description, classification, or listing that are actual and obvious errors appearing on the tax books and related records may be corrected outside the appeal calendar. Critically, NO reduction in real property valuation may be made after July 1 except as ordered by the equalization board, the county court, the circuit court, or the Supreme Court, or as caused by correction of an actual and obvious error - so this is not a backdoor valuation appeal. The Arkansas Property Taxpayer Bill of Rights separately guarantees the right to require officials to review and correct any measurement error to the nearest foot, clerical error, or other technical error in the valuation.
When:
primary source · verified
Recovery of overpayment from erroneous assessment
The Arkansas Property Taxpayer Bill of Rights guarantees the right 'to recover any overpayment of taxes resulting from erroneous assessments within (3) years after payment.' It also guarantees the right to complete all steps in the appeal process before paying any disputed taxes, and the right to written notification of the outcome of any appeal.
When:
primary source · verified
No-notice exception to the exhaustion requirement
A taxpayer who was NOT sent the notice of value change required by Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-23-203 may appeal directly to the county court WITHOUT having exhausted the equalization board remedy. This is a genuine escape hatch for owners who blew the third-Monday-in-August deadline because they never got a valuation notice.
When:
primary source · verified
Protection from delinquency/penalty during appeal
While an appeal from a county court order fixing assessed value is pending in circuit court, the Court of Appeals, or the Supreme Court, property is not returned delinquent and no penalty or interest accrues beyond the amount required to be paid under Sec. 26-35-802. If the appeal is not finally resolved by the last day for penalty-free payment, the taxpayer has 30 days after final disposition to pay any excess without penalty or interest. Taxes paid on property under a proper and timely circuit court appeal are deemed paid under protest whether paid before or after filing.
When:
primary source · verified
What evidence wins in Arkansas
The ultimate question is full and fair MARKET VALUE, then converted to assessed value at the statutory 20% ratio (Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-26-303(c); ACD Rule 4.08.2). All three approaches to value (sales comparison, cost, income) are recognized by ACD. Comparable SALES and LEASES are expressly contemplated as evidence by statute. Statutory evidence rules worth knowing: (1) Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-317(d)(1)(C)(ii) - if the owner presents material evidence not given to the assessor at least 5 business days before the hearing, the BOE may continue the hearing so the assessor can respond; (2) Sec. 26-27-317(d)(1)(D) and Sec. 26-27-318(d)(3) - for COMMERCIAL and INDUSTRIAL property, any party offering a sale or lease as a comparable has an affirmative duty, at least 5 days before the hearing, to disclose whether the comparable was occupied or unoccupied at the time of the transaction and whether it was subject to any use, deed, or lease restriction barring the building from being used for the purpose it was designed for (an anti-'dark store' provision); failure to disclose must be treated as a material omission affecting the weight of the evidence; (3) ex parte communications with BOE members about a pending appeal are prohibited except as necessary during other hearings for comparison or equalization purposes.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
The appeal ladder, in Arkansas's own terms
- 1
County Assessor (informal review / meeting on change in value)
Deadline: No fixed calendar deadline. Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-23-203(3)(A) gives the owner the right to a meeting with the county assessor or the assessor's representative about a change in value BEFORE petitioning the county equalization board. Countywide reappraisals must be completed by July 1; notices of value change must be mailed no later than 10 business days after July 1, and the notice itself must state the time period for meeting with the assessor. Practical outer bound is the equalization-board deadline (third Monday in August).
Clock starts: Mailing/receipt of the assessor's notice of value change (sent no later than ten (10) business days after July 1 of the assessment year)
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-23-203(2)-(3) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Not confirmed from a primary source: No state-issued informal-review form exists; Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-23-203 prescribes a right to a meeting, not a form. Individual counties use their own intake methods. Check the official page before relying on this.Fee: $0
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-23-203 · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 2
County Equalization Board (BOE)
Deadline: On or before the THIRD MONDAY IN AUGUST of each year. This is a RELATIVE rule, not a fixed August 19 date. 'August 19' is a common misstatement derived from 2024, when the third Monday happened to fall on August 19. For 2026 the deadline is Monday, August 17, 2026 (confirmed independently by Pulaski County Assessor and the Washington County Clerk 2026 timetable). Application may be made in person, by petition, or by letter to the secretary of the county equalization board, by the owner or the owner's agent. The board must begin hearing appeals no later than the second Monday in August, and must organize/first meet on August 1 (next business day if Aug 1 is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday). The board's regular session runs Aug 1 to Oct 1; below-ratio counties may extend but not later than the third Monday in November. The BOE has NO jurisdiction over tax-exempt status determinations, ACD-guideline agricultural/pasture/timber valuations, or producing mineral rights valuations.
Clock starts: Calendar: the third Monday of August in the assessment year (fixed relative-weekday rule, not tied to notice date)
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-317(a)(1), (a)(3), (c)(1); Sec. 26-27-309(a) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: County-specific petition/application to the county equalization board - no statewide numbered form. Statute permits application 'in person, by petition, or by letter.' Pulaski County accepts appeals by phone, email (appeals@pulaskicountyassessor.net), or mail postmarked by the third Monday; Washington County schedules hearings through the County Clerk beginning mid-July. official form
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Fee: $0
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-317 · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 3
County Court (presided over by the elected County Judge - an administrative/judicial hybrid; the county judge is an executive officer who sits as the county court, and this is a de novo evidentiary proceeding, not a paper record review)
Deadline: Petition of appeal must be FILED WITH THE COUNTY CLERK on or before the SECOND MONDAY IN OCTOBER of each year (relative rule). For 2026 that is Monday, October 12, 2026 (per Washington County Clerk 2026 timetable). No appeal may be taken unless the petitioner exhausted the BOE remedy OR was not sent the Sec. 26-23-203 notice of value change. The county court appeal has preference over all other county court matters and must be heard and an order entered on or before November 15. The court must notify the owner in writing within 20 working days after the hearing, and the notice must state the right to appeal to circuit court. The county clerk must also publish notice of the appeal at least one week before the hearing or the county court acquires no jurisdiction.
Clock starts: Calendar: the second Monday of October in the assessment year (not measured from the BOE decision date)
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-318(a), (b), (c), (f) · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Form: Petition to Appeal Board of Equalization Determination - sample petition published by the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division/DFA in 'Property Valuation Appeals to County Court'. No form number and no printed revision date on the PDF. Required contents: owner name; mailing/email address; phone; parcel number(s); date of BOE hearing (or reason for non-appearance); assessor's value; BOE's value; reasons the BOE value is incorrect; value sought; and reasons the county court should accept the proposed value, with supporting documents attached. official form
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
Fee: $0 (statutory)
Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-318(a)(1)(B) - 'The county clerk shall not charge a fee for filing an appeal under subdivision (a)(1)(A) of this section.' · primary source · verified 2026-08-12
- 4
Arkansas Circuit Court
Not confirmed from a primary source: Could not retrieve the primary text of Arkansas District Court Rule 9 from arcourts.gov within the research budget, and the web-search budget was exhausted. Secondary sources uniformly describe 30 days from the county court order, and ACD's FAQ states a 30-day county-court-to-circuit-court appeal window in the analogous Sec. 26-26-1119 context, but the general rule's exact text and computation trigger were not confirmed from a primary source. DO NOT publish '30 days' as verified without pulling Ark. Dist. Ct. R. 9. Check the official page before relying on this.Not confirmed from a primary source: No state-issued property-tax circuit court form located; filing is governed by general civil procedure rules not retrieved within budget. Check the official page before relying on this.Not confirmed from a primary source: The Sec. 26-35-802 tax-prepayment mechanics are VERIFIED from primary text; the dollar amount of the circuit court civil filing fee itself was not researched and is left null. Check the official page before relying on this. - 5
Arkansas Court of Appeals (further review by the Arkansas Supreme Court)
Not confirmed from a primary source: The existence of the appellate tier is verified from Sec. 26-35-802(a); the notice-of-appeal deadline under Ark. R. App. P.-Civil 4 was not retrieved from a primary source before the search budget was exhausted. Check the official page before relying on this.Not confirmed from a primary source: Appellate rule text not retrieved within budget. Check the official page before relying on this.Not confirmed from a primary source: Not researched; web-search budget exhausted. Check the official page before relying on this.
Who has to prove what
Preponderance of the evidence as to the true and correct value of the property for ad valorem tax purposes. Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-27-318(d)(2) expressly forbids requiring a higher standard.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
When values are set
FOUR-YEAR statutory countywide reappraisal cycle. Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-26-1902(a), as amended by Act 139 of 2023 (eff. 8/1/2023): 'each county shall appraise all market value real estate normally assessed by the county assessor at its full and fair market value every four (4) years.' Section 26-26-1902(b) lets the Director of the Assessment Coordination Division grant an exception allowing a county to TEMPORARILY remain on a three-year or five-year cycle, in order to level the number of counties reappraising each year. IMPORTANT CORRECTION: the older '3-year if growth exceeds 15%, otherwise 5-year' rule is superseded - do not publish it as current. ACD publishes a 'Four-Year Appraisal Map' showing which counties reappraise in which year (https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/bigmap2024small.pdf). Countywide reappraisals must be completed no later than July 1 of the scheduled year, with value-change notices mailed within 10 business days after July 1 (Sec. 26-23-203(1)-(2)). Assessment ratio: 20% of full/market value (Ark. Code Ann. Sec. 26-26-303(c); ACD Rule 4.08.2), the constitutional ceiling under Ark. Const. amend. 59.
primary source · verified 2026-08-12
How counties differ
Arkansas has 75 counties and the substantive deadlines are STATEWIDE and statutory (third Monday in August for the BOE; second Monday in October for county court) - counties cannot change them. What varies is the intake mechanism and the form. There is no statewide BOE petition form; each county's assessor or county clerk sets its own process. Examples verified 2026-08-12: (1) PULASKI COUNTY (Little Rock) - Assessor's office states 'The deadline to initiate an appeal of real/personal property value to the Pulaski County Board of Equalization is Monday August 17, 2026'; appeals accepted by phone or email (appeals@pulaskicountyassessor.net, 501-340-6170) from mid-July through close of business that Monday; mailed appeals must be POSTMARKED by the third Monday; 5 or more parcels must be scheduled by email; no online filing. (2) WASHINGTON COUNTY (Fayetteville) - County Clerk publishes a 2026 timetable: appointments open July 13; BOE organizes August 1; August 17 is the last day to make a hearing appointment; September 30 is adjournment of regular session; October 1 is the earliest special session date; October 12, 2026 is the last day to file an appeal in County Court; November 20 is the last day of special session and the last date any assessment may be changed. (3) Reappraisal YEAR varies by county under the four-year cycle - check ACD's four-year appraisal map, because in a non-reappraisal year an owner may receive no value-change notice at all (which triggers the Sec. 26-27-318(b)(2) exception). County court petitions are filed with the COUNTY CLERK (not the circuit clerk) and are free.
Arkansas appeal deadline
Deadlines varyArkansas deadlines are set locally.
The deadline is almost always printed on the assessment notice your local assessor mails you. Use that date, it is the one that counts.
Are you missing a Arkansas exemption?
Exemptions cut your bill before any appeal even starts, and most homeowners never claim all the ones they qualify for. Answer four questions:
Is your Arkansas home over-assessed?
The whole appeal hinges on one comparison: your assessed value (from your tax notice) versus your home's market value (what it would sell for today). Put both in:
How to find your home's real market value (free) →
- Pull free estimates. Look up your address on Zillow (“Zestimate”) and Redfin (“Redfin Estimate”). Average them, algorithms run high or low, so two beats one.
- Find 3-5 real comparable sales. Same neighborhood, similar size, beds/baths, age, and condition, sold in the last 6-12 months. Recent sales (not listings) are the strongest evidence a board will accept.
- Adjust for differences. Knock value off comps that are bigger or renovated; add for ones that are smaller or dated, so you're comparing like-for-like.
- Compare to your assessment. If your assessed value sits clearly above that adjusted market figure, you have grounds to appeal.
One catch: some states assess at a fraction of market value (an “assessment ratio”). If your notice shows a ratio or an “equalized” value, compare your implied full value to market, not the raw assessed number.
How property tax appeals generally work
Most states follow the same basic path: your local assessor mails an assessment notice with a value and a deadline; you file an appeal (often called a protest, grievance, or petition) before that deadline; you present comparable sales of similar homes; and a local board reviews the evidence and can lower your value.
The exact form, deadline, and board can vary by county. Use the current assessment notice and the official sources linked above to confirm the controlling local requirements. The paid kit organizes that verification, the evidence, the filing steps, and your editable letter in one place.
Want to see the depth we build per state? Take a look at our Texas, Florida, and Georgia guides.