TL;DR: When you sell your house in Arkansas, your homestead tax credit stays with the home you lived in and does not move with you, so you must apply again with the county assessor on your next home; the credit is up to $675 on a homestead for assessment year 2026 and later (Act 174 of 2026, approved May 1, 2026). Your Amendment 79 limit does not travel either: a sold home is reassessed at 20% of appraised value on the next January 1 (Act 2284 of 2005).
What happens to my homestead tax credit when I sell my house in Arkansas?
The credit attaches to a principal residence, not to a person. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), Assessment Coordination Division, says the homeowner must be the record owner (or a buyer under a recorded sales contract, or a holder of a recorded life estate), the home must be the principal residence, and the owner applies with the county assessor. Only one homestead credit may be claimed each year. Once you sell, the old home is no longer your residence, and the buyer has to file for their own credit.
The amount is moving. DFA's page, accessed Oct. 29, 2026, says the credit is up to $600 on a homestead beginning with the 2026 tax bills. Act 174 of 2026 (HB1103, approved May 1, 2026) sets it at up to $675 on a homestead for assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. That is $75 more than $600, and because taxes on a year's assessment are collected the following year, the $675 first shows on bills collected in 2027. DFA's page still frames the increase as up to $600, so confirm the figure with your assessor.
If you are selling and buying again, the credit on your next home exists only if you file for it. Nothing from the old file carries over automatically.
Does my Amendment 79 limit follow me to the next home?
No. Amendment 79 limits how fast the taxable assessed value of an existing homestead can rise, 5% a year, and it limits the assessed value, not the tax bill (UAEX, FSPPC114, fetched 2026-10-29). If your current bill is lower than full assessment would produce, that limit is the reason.
DFA's page states that an owner who receives title by sale is not entitled to claim any previous limitation on the assessed value, and that one owner's freeze cannot pass to a later owner of the same home. Act 2284 of 2005 goes further: the assessor assesses a sold property at 20% of appraised value at the next assessment date, and the new owner may claim no limitation until the second assessment date after the transfer. This applies to you as the buyer of your next home, just as it applies to the person buying yours. Act 2284 of 2005 is statewide law, so it applies in Benton and Washington counties. Ask the Benton or Washington County assessor to confirm how it is applied to your property.
Use full assessed value to budget. Skyline's first-half 2026 median sale prices put full assessed value at $440,000 x 20% = $88,000 in Bentonville, $456,500 x 20% = $91,300 in Rogers and $379,900 x 20% = $75,980 in Fayetteville. For brief county context, the Benton County average sale price of $465,888 x 20% = $93,178, and the Washington County average of $423,750 x 20% = $84,750. Your school, city and county millage, added together, is then applied to that assessed value. The bill on the home you are leaving tells you little about the bill on the home you are buying, so do not use your current bill as the guide for the next one.
When does the reassessment happen, and why does January 1 matter?
Arkansas property is assessed according to its value on January 1 each year, and the assessor assesses real property annually to the owner of record (Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division). Under Act 2284 of 2005, a sale's reassessment at full value takes effect on the next January 1 after the closing. So a closing in December 2026 is reassessed at full value on January 1, 2027, and that assessment is collected in 2028, while a closing in January 2027 moves the full assessment to January 1, 2028, collected in 2029. In either case the sold home is assessed at 20% of appraised value at the next assessment date, with no limitation until the second assessment date after the transfer, so the person buying your home, and you on the home you buy, each budget price x 20% x overall millage, the same as new construction.
Collection runs on the previous year's assessment, from the first business day in March through October 15. Failing to pay in full by October 15 of the year after the assessment year adds a 10 percent penalty plus costs and collector's fees (UAEX, FSPPC114, fetched 2026-10-29).
Time on market can decide which side of January 1 you land on. Houses sold in Bentonville averaged 123 days on market in 1H 2026, Fayetteville 95 days, and Rogers 85 days (Arvest Skyline Report). Benton County listings had a median of 72 days on market in September 2026, up from 59 in September 2025 (Realtor.com via FRED), which measures how long listings sat, not how long homes took to sell. At those averages, a home listed this fall can plausibly close after the new year.
If you are buying, a closing a few weeks earlier or later can change which year your full assessment starts. Ask your title company and the assessor how the sale year is handled on both properties.
What mistakes cost Arkansas sellers the credit or the savings?
Not filing on the new home. The cost is the credit itself, up to $675 on a homestead for assessment year 2026 and later, for every year you go without it. The fix: file with the county assessor when you take ownership or sign a recorded sales contract. Apply by October 15 of the year after the assessment year (UAEX FSPPC114), and confirm the date with the Benton or Washington County assessor.
Claiming on both homes. Only one credit may be claimed each year, and it applies to a principal residence only. A buyer who closes on the next home before the old one sells will own two homes for a time; claim the credit only on the home that is your principal residence.
Assuming the old home still qualifies after you move out. The credit applies to a principal residence only, so a home you no longer live in does not carry it.
Budgeting the next home on the old bill. The new home is assessed at 20% of appraised value; see the assessed-value figures above for the scale in Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville at the Skyline 1H 2026 median sale prices.
Assuming a freeze comes with you. DFA says one homeowner's freeze cannot pass or convey to a later owner of the same home, and an owner who receives title by sale cannot claim any previous limitation on assessed value. If you hold a freeze now, ask the Benton or Washington County assessor what you must submit for the next home.
What Should You Do With These Numbers?
- Before listing, pull your current bill and note the credit and the assessed value on it. That is your baseline, not a forecast for the next home.
- When you contract on the next home, ask the assessor for the homestead credit application and confirm whether $600 or $675 applies. Act 174 of 2026 (approved May 1, 2026) sets up to $675 for assessment year 2026 and later.
- Estimate the next home's tax as price x 20% x overall millage (school, city and county combined); see the assessed-value figures above, built from the Skyline 1H 2026 median sale prices, for a scale check.
- Compare a closing before and after January 1 with your title company, since the reassessment lands on the next January 1.
- Keep the October 15 deadline in mind: a 10 percent penalty applies to unpaid taxes after it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the homestead credit transfer to the buyer of my house?
No, the credit does not transfer to the buyer. DFA says the home must be the owner's principal residence and the owner applies with the county assessor. Your buyer files for their own credit, which is up to $675 on a homestead for assessment year 2026 and later (Act 174 of 2026, approved May 1, 2026). The home they buy is reassessed at 20% of appraised value at the next assessment date (Act 2284 of 2005).
Do I have to reapply for the credit on my new home?
Yes, you apply again with the county assessor on the new home. DFA's page, accessed Oct. 29, 2026, says homeowners apply with the assessor's office and may claim only one credit each year. Apply by October 15 of the year after the assessment year (UAEX FSPPC114); the Benton or Washington County assessor can confirm the date for your file.
Does my Amendment 79 cap follow me to the next house?
No, the cap does not follow you. DFA says an owner who receives title by sale cannot claim any previous limitation. Under Act 2284 of 2005, the new home is assessed at 20% of appraised value at the next assessment date, with no limitation until the second assessment date after the transfer. Budget on full assessed value.
Is the gain on my home taxed in Arkansas?
Only gain above an exemption is taxed. The DFA 2025 AR1000F/AR1000NR Instructions exempt up to $250,000 per taxpayer ($500,000 for married couples filing on the same return) if the home was owned and lived in as a principal residence for two of the five years before the sale. Above that, Arkansas taxes 50% of net long-term capital gain (short-term gain is fully taxable), with a 2026 top rate of 3.7% (Act 1, 2026 First Extraordinary Session).
Before you list, Mason Capital Group can prepare a side-by-side estimate of your current assessed value against the full 20% assessment on the next home you are considering, plus a comparison of closing before and after January 1. Call 479-925-3333 for a first conversation.
About the author: Cameron Torabi, Principal Broker — Mason Capital Group. 30+ years of Northwest Arkansas real estate expertise; $2.4B+ in cumulative transaction activity (estimated).
Figures in this article are drawn from the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division Property Tax Relief page (accessed Oct. 29, 2026), the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division (20% assessment ratio, 2026-08-19; January 1 assessment date, fetched 2026-10-29), Act 174 of the 2026 Fiscal Session (approved May 1, 2026), Act 2284 of 2005 (effective January 1, 2006), UAEX FSPPC114 (fetched 2026-10-29), the Arvest Skyline Report (1H 2026), Realtor.com via FRED (September 2026), the DFA 2025 AR1000F/AR1000NR Instructions and 2025 AR1000D (tax year 2025), and Act 1 of the 2026 First Extraordinary Session (approved May 6, 2026) for the 3.7% top rate.