Property tax in Polk County, Arkansas

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Polk County, Arkansas is $565 a year, which is about 0.41% of the county's median home value of $138,400. That effective rate is lower than the typical Arkansas county (0.51%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Polk County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Polk County's average effective rate of 0.41% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $567 / year

Property tax in Polk County at a glance

Polk County, Arkansas property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$565
Median home value	$138,400
Effective tax rate	0.41%
Typical Arkansas county rate	0.51%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Polk County compare in Arkansas?

Among Arkansas's 75 counties, Polk County has the 71st highest effective property-tax rate: 70 rank higher and 4 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 2896th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Arkansas county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Polk County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Polk County's 6,232 owner-occupied homes, 2.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 6.1% pay at least $2,000, and 57% pay under $800. Another 9.9% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Polk County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	3,552	57%
$800 to $1,499	1,356	21.8%
$1,500 to $1,999	327	5.2%
$2,000 to $2,999	247	4%
$3,000 or more	131	2.1%
No property tax paid	619	9.9%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $649 and owners without one pay $530. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Polk County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $565 is about 1% of the median income of Polk County homeowner households, $56,652 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 78.9% of Polk County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Polk County?

Yes. The median bill went from $466 in 2015-2019 to $565 in 2020-2024, a 21.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 39.4%, from $99,300 to $138,400. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Polk County

Polk County borders 7 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

Polk County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Le Flore County, OK	0.62%	$845	$135,700
Pike County, AR	0.59%	$713	$121,600
Sevier County, AR	0.44%	$514	$117,600
Scott County, AR	0.43%	$500	$115,000
Howard County, AR	0.42%	$639	$153,900
Polk County, AR (this county)	0.41%	$565	$138,400
McCurtain County, OK	0.37%	$528	$144,500
Montgomery County, AR	0.32%	$479	$151,900

How is a home assessed in Polk County?

Arkansas assesses homes at 20% of market value in every county, Polk County included. How Arkansas assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Polk County?

Yes, as a credit off the bill. Arkansas's Amendment 79 homestead credit is $600 on bills payable in 2026, rising to $675 on bills payable in 2027. Register once with the county assessor. That is the Arkansas rule, and it applies in Polk County. Arkansas's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Polk County?

Arkansas bills in the year after assessment, so what you assess in one year you pay the next. Tax is due and payable from the first business day in March through October 15, and anything unpaid after October 15 picks up a 10% penalty. You can split the bill: a quarter by the third Monday in April, another quarter by the third Monday in July, and the remaining half by October 15. Collectors may also let you pay in any amount across that window.

Arkansas splits the bill into 3 installments. That is the Arkansas rule. Polk County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Polk County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County Board of Equalization, then county court, then circuit court. The filing deadline is typically the third Monday in August. That is the Arkansas rule; Polk County sets the exact dates and forms. The Arkansas appeal process step by step.

Arkansas rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Arkansas page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Polk County, Arkansas: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.