Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Arkansas does not currently offer a state-level EITC.

Last Legislative Action:

In 2017, a bill that would have created a state-level EITC made it through a committee vote in the House, but the bill ultimately failed to gain approval of the full House.

Notes:

• In 2015, legislators introduced a bill to create a state EITC, but the measure failed to pass a committee vote.¹
• On March 30, 2011, the Arkansas governor signed into law HB 1056, which created a credit for Heads of Households with two or more dependents, thus exempting all families below the poverty line from paying state income taxes. This closed a loophole in legislation enacted in 2007 to ensure no working poor family had to pay state taxes.

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Arkansas does not currently offer a state-level CTC.

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC)

Rate (Fully Refundable):

• 20% of federal CDCTC

Eligibility Requirements: All filers who qualify for the federal CDCTC are eligible for the state credit.

Notes:

• Taxpayers claim the credit by completing line 39 of form AR1000 and attaching a copy of their federal child and dependent care credit form.
• The refundable credit is only available for care of a child under age six in an “approved child care facility.”