Pay stub requirements in Arkansas

01 — The law

What Arkansas law requires

1. 01

   Eleven dollars an hour, written into the code by the voters

   Issue 5 on the November 2018 ballot amended Arkansas Code 11-4-210(a) to raise the state minimum wage in three steps: nine dollars twenty five cents from 1 January 2019, ten dollars from 1 January 2020 and eleven dollars from 1 January 2021. No later step was written into the act, so eleven dollars is still the figure.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Initiated Act Issue 5 of 2018, amending Arkansas Code 11-4-210 →
2. 02

   The state act reaches employers with four or more employees

   The Arkansas Minimum Wage Act covers employers with four or more employees, and employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are also covered by the state law if they have four or more employees. An employer caught by both must pay whichever minimum wage is higher.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Minimum wage and overtime →
3. 03

   Tipped staff get $2.63 in cash, and deductions have limits

   Tipped employees must be paid at least two dollars sixty three cents an hour, with tips making up the difference to the applicable minimum and the employer carrying the burden of keeping accurate tip records. Deductions for spoilage, breakage, cash or inventory shortages and fines for lateness or misconduct may not take an employee below the minimum wage for the workweek.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Minimum wage and overtime →
4. 04

   Which law applies turns on turnover and headcount

   An employer grossing more than five hundred thousand dollars a year or engaged in interstate commerce is subject to both federal and state wage and hour law. An employer below that turnover that is not engaged in interstate commerce falls under the state law alone once it has four or more employees, which is why small Arkansas businesses are still covered when the federal act would miss them.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Frequently asked questions →
5. 05

   A late final cheque costs the employer double

   Where a company or corporation terminates an employee, the wages are due by the next regular payday. If the employer fails to make payment within seven days of that payday, the department states that the employer shall owe the employee double the wages due, which makes the deadline expensive rather than merely mandatory.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Frequently asked questions →
6. 06

   Wage claims stop at two thousand dollars, but reach contractors

   The Labor Standards Division investigates wage claims filed by workers who are owed two thousand dollars or less, and it does not matter whether the worker was an employee or an independent contractor who physically performed the work. Typical claims involve last paycheque disputes, commissions, vacation pay, bonuses or unauthorised deductions.

   Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing - Wage claims →
7. 07

   Paydays fall at least twice a month

   The federal Wage and Hour Division places Arkansas in the semimonthly column of its table of state payday requirements, with no narrower rule and no industry footnote attached to the entry. Employers are free to pay more often than that; they are not free to stretch the interval.

   U.S. Department of Labor - Table of state payday requirements →
8. 08

   State withholding runs off the AR4EC and the 2026 formula

   The Department of Finance and Administration publishes the withholding formula effective 1 January 2026 that employers with electronic payroll systems use instead of the printed tables. It annualises the gross pay for the period, applies the standard deduction and the bracket table, and then divides back down, which is the arithmetic behind the state tax line on an Arkansas stub.

   Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration - Withholding tax formula method, effective 01/01/2026 →

02 — Local rates

Local rates above the Arkansas minimum

03 — What we calculate

What this generator calculates for Arkansas

State withholding for Arkansas is calculated from the 2026 figures the state publishes, and our test suite holds those figures against the state's own published calculation rather than against arithmetic of ours.

04 — Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is an Arkansas employer required to give me a pay stub?

The state labour department publishes rules on minimum wage, overtime, deductions, final pay and wage claims, and none of that material sets out a wage statement requirement. In practice employers issue stubs anyway, because federal recordkeeping and the state withholding rules both depend on knowing what was paid and what was taken out.

What is the Arkansas minimum wage in 2026?

Eleven dollars an hour. That figure came from Issue 5 on the November 2018 ballot, which amended Arkansas Code 11-4-210 in three annual steps ending on 1 January 2021, and the act set no further increases. Tipped employees must receive at least two dollars sixty three cents an hour in direct wages.

Does the Arkansas minimum wage apply to a very small employer?

It applies once an employer has four or more employees, which is a lower bar than the federal act sets. A business grossing under five hundred thousand dollars a year and not engaged in interstate commerce escapes federal coverage entirely but still owes the state minimum wage if it has four staff on the books.

How quickly must my final paycheck arrive in Arkansas?

By the next regular payday after a company or corporation terminates you. The department states that an employer which fails to pay within seven days of that payday owes double the wages due, so the penalty for missing the deadline is the wages themselves twice over rather than a fixed fine.

Can I file an Arkansas wage claim if I worked as a contractor?

Yes. The Labor Standards Division takes claims from anyone who physically performed the work, employee or independent contractor alike, provided the amount owed is two thousand dollars or less. Above that ceiling the division cannot help and the dispute has to go to court instead.

How is Arkansas state tax worked out on my pay?

The Department of Finance and Administration publishes both bracket tables and a formula method effective 1 January 2026. The formula annualises the gross pay for your pay period, subtracts the standard deduction, runs the annual figure through the rate schedule and divides the result back down to the period, then applies the credits claimed on your AR4EC.