Benton County Property Tax Guide

At a glance

Two things about Arkansas make Benton County different from most places you will read about. First, your home is assessed at 20 percent of its appraised market value, so a $400,000 appraisal shows up as an $80,000 assessment on your record. Second, Amendment 79 caps how fast the taxable part of that assessment can climb: 5 percent a year on a homestead, 10 percent on everything else. After a reappraisal the size of the 2024 one, many long-held homes are taxed on a number below what the county says they are worth, and the capped figure climbs toward the appraised value a little every year. The appraised value is the ceiling. Getting it right is what decides where your bill lands over the rest of this cycle, not just what you pay this fall.

How the appeal process works

1. 1

   Pull your property record

   Look up your parcel on the county assessor site or ARCountyData and read the record the county has on file. Square footage, bedroom and bath count, year built, lot size, condition. Errors here are the cheapest thing to fix and they do not require any market argument at all.

2. 2

   Compare the taxable value to the appraised value

   Your statement shows both. If they are close, every dollar of reduction lands on this year's bill. If the taxable value sits well below the appraised value, Amendment 79 is holding your bill down for now, and a reduction works by lowering the ceiling those 5 percent increases are climbing toward. Either way the number is worth fixing. Knowing which situation you are in just tells you when you will feel it.

3. 3

   Call the assessor for an informal review

   Benton County runs an informal step before the board, opening in late July. You call the appraiser assigned to your area and walk through what you think is wrong. Many disputes end here. If the assessor will not commit to a change, ask to be scheduled for the board.

4. 4

   File with the Board of Equalization

   The board takes petitions by phone, by letter, or in person, and there is no fee. Arkansas law lets a property owner or an agent of the owner apply, so you do not have to handle it yourself. The deadline is firm: 4:30 p.m. on the third Monday in August.

5. 5

   Present your evidence

   The county tells owners plainly that a high tax bill is not an argument. What works is comparable properties in your neighborhood assessed for less, recent sale prices, photos of condition problems, or a recent appraisal. The board offers evening hearings and issues a written decision within 10 business days.

6. 6

   Escalate if you need to

   A board denial is not the end. You can take the case to Benton County Court by the second Monday in October, which is October 12 in 2026, and from there to circuit court.

Common reasons to appeal

• +The 2024 reappraisal raised your value by more than your specific street actually moved
• +Homes near you with similar size and age are assessed for less
• +The property record overstates your square footage, condition, or finished space
• +You bought the home for less than the county's appraised value
• +Your home has foundation, roof, septic, or drainage problems the appraiser never saw
• +Your lot has steep, wooded, or unbuildable acreage that is being valued as usable land

Frequently asked questions

When is the Benton County appeal deadline?

The Board of Equalization stops taking petitions at 4:30 p.m. on the third Monday in August, which is August 17 in 2026. The informal review with the assessor's office opens in late July. If you miss the board date, your next opening is the following August, since Arkansas appeals apply to the current year's assessment only.

Will a lower value actually lower my tax bill?

Sometimes right away, sometimes over the next few years. Amendment 79 caps a homestead's taxable assessed value at 5 percent growth a year, so if you have owned your home since before the 2024 reappraisal, your taxable value is still climbing toward the appraised value. When those two numbers are close, a reduction shows up on the next bill. When there is a gap, the reduction lowers the ceiling instead of the bill.

If the cap is holding my bill down anyway, why bother filing?

Four reasons. The appraised value is the ceiling your capped value rises toward every year, so lowering it lowers every year that follows. It also holds until the 2028 reappraisal, and the county builds that reappraisal off the record it already has, so an error left alone carries into the next cycle. Additions and substantial improvements are not covered by the cap and get valued against the appraised number. And when the home sells, the cap resets, so whoever buys it inherits the value on the books. A wrong square footage or a wrong condition rating does not fix itself.

Do I have to show up at the hearing?

No. Arkansas law lets you appeal in person, by petition, or by letter, and it lets an agent act for you. The board also schedules evening hearings each week during the season for people who cannot take time off work.

Can the board raise my assessment instead?

The board can adjust a value in either direction, and in practice increases are rare. The petition asks the board to look at whether the county's number is right, and a well-documented case is not an invitation to raise it.

What is the $600 homestead credit?

Arkansas gives owner-occupants a credit against the property tax on their principal residence, raised to $600 by Act 330 of 2025. It is applied after the millage calculation, so it lowers your bill by a flat amount and does not shrink what a successful appeal is worth. You claim it through the county assessor if it is not already on your statement. FairAppeal can occasionally help with exemption applications too. Email hello@fairappeal.com if you want us to take a look.

I am 65 or older. Does that change anything?

Yes. Arkansas freezes the taxable assessed value on the homestead of an owner who is 65 or older or who is disabled, as of the year they qualify. If your freeze is already in place, a reduction in appraised value usually will not move your bill this year. It can still be worth correcting a record error so the frozen base is right if the freeze ever resets.

How much does it cost to file?

Nothing. Benton County charges no fee to petition the Board of Equalization, and there is no filing fee to take a denial to county court.

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