Arkansas payroll tax registration
What to set up in Arkansas before the first payroll, in date order, with each agency, online portal and deadline. Enter the first employee's start date and the first pay date to see the dates.
Setup steps before the first payroll
- Workers' comp
Get workers' compensation coverage if Arkansas's rule covers the business
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-about-us/basic-facts/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Posters
Hang the required postings, including the DWS UI poster
- Deadline
- Before anyone starts work
- Source
- labor.arkansas.gov/resources/required-postings/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- State tax accounts
Register for an Arkansas withholding account with DFA (Form AR-1R, online in ATAP)
- Deadline
- Before the first payroll; new accounts start as monthly filers
- Agency
- Withholding: Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Withholding Tax Branch (opens in a new tab)
- Returns
- Monthly: "All new registrations are classified as 'monthly filers'" and file Form AR941M with payment by the 15th of the following month (zero voucher for months with no withholding) until DFA reclassifies them; annual reconciliation AR3MAR by February 28.
- Source
- www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Withholding-Tax-Instructions-for-Employers.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- Date depends on the deadline belowState tax accounts
Create an unemployment account in DWS Tax21 (Report to Determine Liability)
- Deadline
- As soon as you meet the definition of employer; the Report to Determine Liability is due no later than the last day of the second month in which you meet it
- Agency
- Unemployment: Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (opens in a new tab)
- Source
- dws.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Employer_Handbook_20220811.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- New hire reporting
Report each new hire
- Deadline
- Within 20 days of hireCounted here from the start date; report sooner if the employee was hired before it.
- Online
- Not confirmed
- Source
- dws.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Employer_Handbook_20220811.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- State tax accounts
Pay the first monthly withholding (AR941M)
- Deadline
- By the 15th of the month after the first payroll
- Source
- www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Withholding-Tax-Instructions-for-Employers.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- State tax accounts
File the first quarterly wage report in Tax21
- Deadline
- By the last day of the month after the quarter of the first pay dateJanuary 31, 2027 is a Sunday; whether Arkansas moves it to the next business day is not confirmed.
- Source
- dws.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Employer_Handbook_20220811.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Federal dates for this pay date
Federal returns follow the compliance calendar, which dates them for every employer:
A 501(c)(3) organization generally owes no FUTA tax and files no Form 940 (Form 940 instructions (opens in a new tab)).
Not confirmed: no official source settled it on the check date, so none is shown.
Not needed in Arkansas
- No state paid leave program funded through payroll.www.dfa.arkansas.gov/office/taxes/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Also in Arkansas
- Whether any city or county taxes wages: not confirmed.
More on Arkansas
WORKLIO HCM
Hiring in a new state? We help open the accounts.
We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you: withholding, unemployment and paid leave contributions where the state's tax agency collects them. After that, Worklio HCM calculates, deposits and files your payroll taxes in every state and locality, new-hire state reporting is automatic, and rates and rules update without you noticing.
Registration in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sources
The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.
- www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Withholding-Tax-Instructions-for-Employers.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- dws.arkansas.gov/workforce-services/unemployment/employer-ui-information/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- dws.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Employer_Handbook_20220811.pdf (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- labor.arkansas.gov/workers-comp/awcc-about-us/basic-facts/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
- labor.arkansas.gov/resources/required-postings/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- portal.arkansas.gov/service/report-new-hire-or-re-hire/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
- www.dfa.arkansas.gov/office/taxes/ (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for registering and for your employment taxes.