TL;DR: No, new construction homes in Northwest Arkansas do not have lower property taxes: a new build is assessed at full value with no Amendment 79 cap, so in the Bentonville School District #6 inside the City of Bentonville it is taxed on full assessed value at the 62-mill rate (2025 millage, 2026 collections), about $12.40 a year per $1,000 of market value. A resale owner whose taxable value is still capped may pay less, but a resale buyer does not keep that limitation: a sold home is reassessed at the next assessment date (Act 2284 of 2005). Compare addresses by millage, not by the year a home was built.
Do new construction homes have lower property taxes in Northwest Arkansas, or is that a myth?
The belief is common in Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville subdivisions: a new build comes with a tax break, so it costs less to carry than a resale of similar size. Nothing in the way Arkansas calculates a bill supports it. Real property is assessed at 20% of true market value, and the millage rate is applied to that assessed value, not to market value (Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division, as of 2026-08-19). That rule has no term for the age of the house.
One mill is a tax of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value (University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, 2026). So the estimate at full assessed value is market value x 20% x millage divided by 1,000. In Bentonville, with a total millage of 62 (2025 millage, 2026 collections), each $1,000 of market value carries 0.2 x 62 = $12.40 a year in tax.
Nothing in that arithmetic is lower for a new house. If someone tells you a new build is taxed more lightly, the claim fails as stated. If you are comparing a new build and a resale, ask for the school district and city of each address before you compare anything else, because those two facts set the rate.
Does Amendment 79 give new construction a tax break?
No. Amendment 79's caps protect existing owners and expressly exclude new construction. Homestead taxable value can rise no more than 5% per year until it reaches full assessed value, and other real property, such as commercial, agricultural or vacant land, is capped at 10% per year (Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division, accessed October 2026). Those caps protect owners whose values have climbed after a county-wide reappraisal.
The same DFA page states that newly constructed property is assessed at full value, and that the 5% and 10% caps do not apply to new construction, newly discovered property, or substantial improvements, meaning a renovation that adds 25% or more to value. A new build starts at the full figure, while a long-time owner of an older house may still be climbing toward it.
So the belief has it backwards: a long-time owner's capped bill can be the lower one, not the new build's. A resale owner's current bill can sit below the full-value estimate, and a new-build bill generally will not. Sellers should use the assessed value on their own current bill, not the full-value formula, when telling a buyer what taxes run. Buyers should model both a new build and a resale at full assessed value, because a sold home is reassessed at the next assessment date and the new owner can claim no limitation until the second assessment date after the sale (Act 2284 of 2005).
For you as a buyer, that means the full-value estimate is the number to budget for either home; the seller's current bill tells you only what the seller pays.
Does the age of the home or the address drive the bill more?
The address does. Here are the published overall millage rates, school plus city plus county, each for the school district and city combination shown (Arkansas DFA 2025 Millage Report, 2025 millage, 2026 collections; report published March 2026):
- Bentonville School District #6 / City of Bentonville: 62 (school 46.8 + city 5.5 + county 9.7)
- Fayetteville School District #1 / City of Fayetteville: 57.3
- Siloam Springs School District #21 / City of Siloam Springs: 56.8
- Rogers School District #30 / City of Rogers: 54.6
- Springdale School District #50 / City of Springdale (Washington County): 54.4
- Farmington School District #6 / City of Farmington: 51.1
Bentonville against Farmington is a gap of 62 - 51.1 = 10.9 mills. Per $1,000 of market value, that is $12.40 in Bentonville against 0.2 x 51.1 = $10.22 in Farmington, a difference of $2.18 on every $1,000. Rogers works out to 0.2 x 54.6 = $10.92 per $1,000.
Lowell shows how much the district matters inside one city. Inside the Rogers School District #30 its total is 57.9, and inside the Springdale School District #50 it is 53.33, a spread of 57.9 - 53.33 = 4.57 mills. A Lowell new build near the J.B. Hunt headquarters and a Lowell resale can carry different rates only because of the district line.
For you, that means a new build in Bentonville will cost more to carry than a new build of the same value in Farmington, and the build year is not the reason.
How do the homestead credit and rental use change the real annual carrying cost?
The homestead credit is up to $600 on a homestead for 2026 tax bills (Arkansas DFA, accessed October 2026). Act 174 of 2026 sets it at $675 on a homestead for assessment year 2026 and later, which first shows on bills collected in 2027. The credit applies only to your principal residence, only one may be claimed, and you apply through the county assessor.
That tie to use, not to age, is the point. A new build and a resale both qualify if you live in them. A rental does not qualify, so an investor should budget the full computed bill with no credit. Non-homestead real property is also capped at 10% per year rather than 5%, but as the DFA page notes, neither cap applies to a new build.
The DFA page does not state a first-year rule for the homestead credit on a new build. Ask the Benton County or Washington County assessor how your first year is handled before closing, and confirm the next county-wide reappraisal date with the assessor, because that date starts the cap clock on existing homes.
For you as an owner-occupant, subtract the credit from your estimate. For you as an investor, do not subtract anything.
What should you do with these numbers?
- Get the school district and city for each address, then look up its total millage in the 2025 DFA millage report (for example, 62 in Bentonville and 51.1 in Farmington).
- Estimate each bill as market value x 20% x millage divided by 1,000, and treat a new build at full assessed value.
- For any resale, budget at full assessed value too; the seller's capped bill does not carry over to you (Act 2284 of 2005).
- If you will live there, ask the assessor to confirm how the $600 credit (2026 bills) and the $675 credit (assessment year 2026 and later) apply in the first year; if it is a rental, budget no credit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are new build property taxes higher than resale taxes in Northwest Arkansas?
They can be, because new construction is assessed at full value and the 5% homestead and 10% other-property caps do not apply to it (Arkansas DFA, accessed October 2026). A resale's current owner may pay less if the taxable value is still below full assessed value, but a buyer of that home is reassessed at full value at the next assessment date. The millage itself, such as Bentonville's 62 (2025 millage, 2026 collections), is the same for both homes.
Does a new build qualify for the Arkansas homestead tax credit?
A new build qualifies when it is your principal residence, because the credit follows use, not age: up to $600 on 2026 bills, and $675 for assessment year 2026 and later (Act 174 of 2026). The DFA page (accessed October 2026) gives no first-year rule for new builds, so ask the county assessor. Rentals do not qualify.
How do I estimate the property tax on a Northwest Arkansas home?
Multiply market value by 20%, then by the total millage divided by 1,000. Bentonville at 62 mills (2025 millage, 2026 collections) is 0.2 x 62 = $12.40 per $1,000 of market value, and Rogers at 54.6 mills is $10.92. Existing owners should use the assessed value on their own bill, since Amendment 79 can hold it lower.
If you are weighing a new build against a resale in Benton or Washington County, call Mason Capital Group at 479-925-3333 and we will prepare a side-by-side annual property tax comparison for the addresses you are considering, using each address's school district and city millage, with the homestead credit applied for an owner-occupant or removed for a rental.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity.
Figures in this article are drawn from the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division State of Arkansas 2025 Millage Report (2025 millage, 2026 collections; published March 2026), the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division Property Tax Relief page (accessed October 2026; as of 2026-10-23), the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division (as of 2026-08-19), the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service 2026 property tax election fact sheet (as of 2026-10-23), and Act 174 of 2026 (HB1103) of the Arkansas General Assembly (as of 2026-10-23).