Clay County Property Tax Calculator
Rate basis: Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division, 2025 Millage Report (2026 Collections), issued March 2026.
How Clay County property taxes are calculated
Clay County bills start the same way every Arkansas bill does: 20% of market value becomes the assessed value, and the millage for the parcel's exact school district and city or rural area is applied to that assessed value. Clay County then makes the arithmetic unusually easy to follow, because all twelve cities that levy a tax in this county levy exactly 5.0 mills, and the county's own levy is exactly 10.0 mills in every district, city and rural alike.
Take a $95,000 home in Corning, inside the Corning #8 district, where the published combined rate is 51.50 mills for 2026 collections:
- $95,000 market value times 20% equals $19,000 assessed value.
- $19,000 times 51.50 divided by 1,000 equals $978.50 tax before credit.
- Subtract the $600 homestead credit to reach $378.50 estimated annual tax.
Move the same house into the rural tier of the Piggott #52 district, where the combined rate is 45.44 mills, and the tax before credit falls to $863.36, or $263.36 after the credit. Identical house, identical city levy, roughly $115 less per year, decided only by which school district line the parcel falls on.
Clay County millage rates by district and city
Every row below is a taxing combination the Arkansas DFA published for Clay County for 2026 collections. The school, city and county columns reconcile to the overall figure on each line, with the single exception flagged below. Clay County has four school districts and twelve tax-levying cities, and because every city levies the same 5.0 mills, the school line is what separates one Clay County bill from another.
| School district | City or area | School | City | County | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corning #8 | Rural | 36.5 | 0 | 10 | 41.5 * |
| Corning #8 | Corning | 36.5 | 5 | 10 | 51.5 |
| Corning #8 | Datto | 36.5 | 5 | 10 | 51.5 |
| Corning #8 | Knobel | 36.5 | 5 | 10 | 51.5 |
| Corning #8 | McDougal | 36.5 | 5 | 10 | 51.5 |
| Corning #8 | Success | 36.5 | 5 | 10 | 51.5 |
| Piggott #52 | Rural | 35.44 | 0 | 10 | 45.44 |
| Piggott #52 | Nimmons | 35.44 | 5 | 10 | 50.44 |
| Piggott #52 | Piggott | 35.44 | 5 | 10 | 50.44 |
| Piggott #52 | Pollard | 35.44 | 5 | 10 | 50.44 |
| Piggott #52 | St. Francis | 35.44 | 5 | 10 | 50.44 |
| Rector (Clay Cty) #1 | Rural | 45.49 | 0 | 10 | 55.49 |
| Rector (Clay Cty) #1 | Greenway | 45.49 | 5 | 10 | 60.49 |
| Rector (Clay Cty) #1 | Rector | 45.49 | 5 | 10 | 60.49 |
| Greene County Tech | Rural | 37.49 | 0 | 10 | 47.49 |
| Greene County Tech | Peach Orchard | 37.49 | 5 | 10 | 52.49 |
| County average | 37.98 | 5 | 10 | 51.42 |
Clay County rows taken from the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division 2025 Millage Report, covering 2026 collections and issued March 2026. The asterisk marks the Corning #8 rural row, where the report's own school figure of 36.5 mills and county figure of 10 mills sum to 46.5 mills, so the overall total printed on that line appears to be a typographical error. The supported range for Clay County addresses is 45.44 to 60.49 mills.
Why two Clay County homes can have different tax bills
Because Clay County applies one flat city levy and one flat county levy, the entire spread in county rates comes from the school line. The four districts are 10.05 mills apart at their widest, and that gap is worth $191 a year on a $95,000 home before any credit.
- The cheapest combination is the rural tier of Piggott #52 at 45.44 mills. Piggott #52 is the lightest school district in the county at 35.44 school mills, and its rural tier adds only the 10 mill county levy. Five cities sit inside this district at 50.44 mills: Nimmons, Piggott, Pollard, St. Francis and the Piggott city seat itself.
- The dearest combinations are Greenway and Rector at 60.49 mills. Both sit inside the Rector (Clay Cty) #1 district, which carries the heaviest school levy in Clay County at 45.49 mills, of which 13.49 mills is the school bond line and 7 mills is other bond. Add Rector's 5 mill city levy and the 10 mill county levy and the total lands at 60.49.
- Corning city pays 51.50 mills, five mills more than Corning's own rural tier. Corning #8 levies 36.5 school mills, the middle of the county's range, and the city of Corning adds 5 mills on top. Datto, Knobel, McDougal and Success all sit in the same district at the same 51.50 mills, so a Corning address and a Success address pay the same rate.
- Peach Orchard is the only Clay County city inside Greene County Tech. Greene County Tech reaches into Clay County from Greene County, and its 37.49 school mills put a Peach Orchard address at 52.49 mills, above the county average.
No city in Clay County is split across two school districts, which is unusual for Arkansas. Every incorporated city here maps to a single district: Corning, Datto, Knobel, McDougal and Success to Corning #8, Piggott, Nimmons, Pollard and St. Francis to Piggott #52, Greenway and Rector to Rector #1, and Peach Orchard to Greene County Tech. The districts do cross county lines, though: the state report shows Corning #8 fringing into Randolph County and Rector #1 fringing into Greene County.
Piggott, Corning, Rector and the rest of Clay County
Piggott
Piggott is the eastern district seat and the largest city in the county, and it holds the county's assessor and collector offices on South 2nd Avenue. A Piggott city address pays 50.44 mills, made up of 35.44 school mills, 5 city mills and 10 county mills. That is 6.06 mills below the county average and the second lowest combination available to a Clay County city resident.
Corning
Corning is the western district seat, roughly 20 miles west of Piggott, and it is the cheapest of the three main cities for a school district line, though its city tier still lands at 51.50 mills. Corning's Western District courthouse sits at 800 West Second, and the county clerk maintains a Corning office there alongside the Piggott office on South 2nd Avenue.
Rector
Rector is the most expensive city address in Clay County at 60.49 mills, which is 9.07 mills above the county average. The reason is the Rector (Clay Cty) #1 school levy of 45.49 mills, the highest school rate in the county, combined with Rector's 5 mill city levy. Greenway, a small city northwest of Rector, shares the same 60.49 mill total.
Datto, Knobel, McDougal, Success, Nimmons, Pollard and St. Francis
The county's smaller incorporated cities all levy the same 5 mills and sit at either 51.50 mills inside Corning #8 or 50.44 mills inside Piggott #52. St. Francis, despite the name, is a Clay County city inside the Piggott #52 district rather than a reference to the neighbouring county.
Clay County Assessor
Official name: Clay County Assessor's Office. Assessor: Tracy Gurley. The office values real and personal property, keeps parcel and ownership records, handles exemptions, and takes homestead credit applications. Valuation questions belong here; payment questions belong to the collector.
Clay County is one of two counties in this batch with two assessor counters, which matters during assessment season. Personal property must be assessed between January 1 and May 31, and the state report lists Clay County as running an in-house reappraisal program with Total Assessment Solutions Corporation, with the most recent countywide reappraisal year recorded as 2023 on the Arkansas DFA reappraisal schedule.
Sources: Clay County Assessor's Office, Arkansas DFA county officials directory and the Arkansas DFA reappraisal schedule. Office hours are not published on the county's assessor page; call before travelling.
Clay County Collector
Official name: Clay County Collector's Office. Collector: Ronnie Cole, who also serves as county sheriff, the arrangement Arkansas law allows where the sheriff is ex-officio collector. The office bills and collects real and personal property tax and does not set values.
The county website prints (870) 857-3881 as the collector's contact number on both its collector page and its directory, and the CountyService payment portal repeats the Corning number rather than the Piggott one. Use the Piggott number for the South 2nd Avenue counter and the Corning number for the western district office. Payment portal availability is status dependent, so confirm at checkout that the county is accepting the tax year you owe.
Sources: Clay County Collector's Office, Clay County directory and Clay County tax payment portal.
How to find a Clay County parcel and its exact tax
Clay County runs two public systems, one per office. The assessor sponsors a free real estate record search through ARCountyData covering roughly 16,704 parcels, with the assessor data refreshed on July 17, 2026 and the collector data on July 20, 2026. The collector's tax record search on the same platform shows bills and receipts, and the CountyService portal handles payment.
- Open the Clay County record search on ARCountyData and search by owner name, address, parcel number or taxpayer ID.
- Read the market value and the assessed value on the parcel record. Assessed value should be 20% of market value unless an Amendment 79 cap or a senior freeze is holding it lower.
- Note the school district field and the city or rural area. Those two fields select the row in the millage table above, and they are the only reason two Clay County homes of equal value pay different amounts.
- Switch to the tax record search to see what was billed for the current and prior years, whether a receipt exists, and whether anything is outstanding.
- For boundary or district questions, use the statewide parcel data the Arkansas GIS Office publishes for Clay County, or call the assessor's Piggott office at (870) 598-3870.
The taxpayer ID on your statement matches the ID the search accepts, and the collector search also allows a tax book filter for current against delinquent records, which is the fastest way to tell whether a prior year was cleared.
Sources: ARCountyData Clay County records and Arkansas GIS Office parcel polygon data.
Paying Clay County property taxes
Arkansas tax books open on the first business day in March and the statewide deadline is October 15. Clay County accepts the current tax year online through the CountyService payment portal, which is the same service the collector's office links, and in person at either courthouse counter during posted hours.
Routes the county documents
- Online: the Clay County tax payment portal accepts real estate and personal property payments for the tax year it is currently serving. The portal states which tax year it is accepting, so check that line before you pay.
- In person: Piggott at 151 S. 2nd Ave. and Corning, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a. m. to 4:30 p. m.
- By mail: to the Piggott office at 151 S. 2nd Ave., Piggott, AR 72454.
Personal property tax must be cleared before or at the same time as real estate in Arkansas, so a partial payment aimed only at a house will not go through while a vehicle remains unpaid. Clay County does not publish a card fee schedule on its own pages, so ask at the counter or check the portal's fee disclosure before using a card. The statewide rules on deadlines and penalties are covered in Arkansas property tax due dates.
Source: Clay County tax payment portal and Clay County Collector's Office.
Homestead credit in Clay County
The homestead credit is claimed through the Clay County Assessor's Office, not the collector, and it is not automatic. Clay County has two assessor counters, in Piggott and in Corning, and either one can take the application for a home you own and occupy as your principal residence.
Two amounts are worth keeping straight, because they land on different bills. A 2026 bill, which covers assessment year 2025 and is payable in October 2026, carries a maximum credit of $600 under Act 330 of 2025. From 2027 bills onward, meaning assessment year 2026, the maximum rises to $675 under HB1103, now Act 174 of 2026, which amended Ark. Code 26-26-1118(a)(1)(A). The calculator on this page models a 2026 bill, so it uses $600.
Clay County also participates in the Amendment 79 protections, which cap how fast taxable value can rise after a reappraisal: 5% a year for a primary residence and 10% for other real property, with an option to freeze the taxable value of a residence at 65 or older or when fully disabled. The full filing walkthrough is in how to apply for the Arkansas homestead credit.
Sources: Arkansas DFA property tax relief, Act 330 of 2025 and Act 174 of 2026.
Appealing a Clay County assessment
Start with the assessor. Arkansas law requires the assessor to grant an informal hearing on a value change before a formal petition, and a corrected property record often settles the question without a board date. Only after that does the county Board of Equalization come into the picture.
- Where to apply: to the secretary of the Clay County Board of Equalization, which in Arkansas is the county clerk's office, in person, by petition or by letter. The clerk's Piggott office is on South 2nd Avenue and the Corning office is at the Western District courthouse.
- Filing deadline: the third Monday in August each year, per Ark. Code 26-27-317. Filing can begin as early as July 1.
- Hearing window: boards must begin hearing appeals no later than the second Monday in August, and must schedule at least one evening or after hours session each week for working owners.
- Evidence order: the assessor presents first, then you present, then the assessor may rebut. Material evidence not shared with the assessor at least five business days before the hearing can trigger a continuance.
- What the board cannot touch: agricultural, pasture and timber land valuations set under state guidelines sit outside the board's jurisdiction.
- Next step: a further appeal goes to county court, and the board's written decision must include that deadline.
Two Clay County offices touch this process: the clerk's Piggott number is (870) 598-2813 and the Corning number is (870) 857-3480. Sources disagree on who currently holds the clerk's post. The county's own department page names Brande Boyd, the Arkansas Judiciary directory names Tyler Wyss, and the City of Corning's elected officials page names Pat Poole. The office and the phone numbers are consistent across all three, so contact the office and confirm the current holder there. Background on valuations is in how to appeal a property tax assessment in Arkansas and the site's appeal guide.
Sources: Arkansas county boards of equalization model hearing procedures, Clay County Clerk and Arkansas Judiciary county directory.
Clay County property tax examples
The five rows below take the Clay County average of 51.42 mills, apply the 20% assessment ratio and subtract a single $600 credit. They are planning estimates rather than quotes, because a Corning address inside Corning #8 would use 51.50 mills and a Rector address inside Rector (Clay Cty) #1 would use 60.49.
| Market value | Assessed at 20% | Tax before credit | After $600 credit | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $20,000 | $1,028 | $428 | $35.70 |
| $250,000 | $50,000 | $2,571 | $1,971 | $164.25 |
| $95,000 (county median, rounded) | $19,000 | $977 | $377 | $31.42 |
| $400,000 | $80,000 | $4,114 | $3,514 | $292.80 |
| $500,000 | $100,000 | $5,142 | $4,542 | $378.50 |
Calculated at the 51.42 mill Clay County average for 2026 collections, with one $600 credit applied per row for a qualifying primary residence.
Clay County median home value and median tax
The Census figures below describe Clay County housing as a whole and are shown only for context. They are not inputs to the calculator above and they say nothing about your parcel's value, its district or whether a credit already applies to it.
The gap between the surveyed median bill and a millage-derived figure is the interesting part. A $94,600 home assessed at 20% would carry $18,920 of assessed value, and at the 51.42 mill average that implies about $973 of tax, more than double the $470 that Clay County owners report paying. Three forces explain it: Amendment 79 taxable value caps holding long-held homes below full assessed value, the low-value housing stock that dominates a rural county where a large share of parcels sit under the median, and the fact that the Census median covers every owner-occupied home including ones that have not changed hands in decades. Use the survey for context and the calculator above for a planning number.
Sources: B25077, median value; B25103, median tax; B01003, population. These are survey estimates and carry sampling error.
Clay County property tax questions
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The county average total millage is 51.42 mills for 2026 collections, made up of 37.98 school mills, 5.00 city mills and 10.00 county mills. Published combinations for Clay County addresses run from 45.44 mills in the rural Piggott #52 tier to 60.49 mills in Greenway and inside Rector city.
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They do, and it is unusual. Every one of the twelve cities that levies a property tax in Clay County levies exactly 5.0 mills of city general levy, and no Clay County city levies for fire, police, library, bond or park separately. The county levy is likewise 10.0 mills in every tier, so the school district is the only variable left.
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Use the ARCountyData search the Clay County Assessor sponsors, which covers roughly 16,704 parcels and is free to the public. Search by owner, address, parcel number or taxpayer ID, then read market value, assessed value, school district and city or rural area off the record.
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Online through the Clay County tax payment portal on CountyService, in person at the Piggott office at 151 S. 2nd Ave. or the Corning office, or by mail to Piggott. Counters are open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a. m. to 4:30 p. m. Confirm which tax year the portal is accepting before paying.
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The statewide deadline is October 15. Books open on the first business day in March, so the payment window runs about seven and a half months. Paying personal property first or at the same time as real estate is required, because Arkansas does not let a real estate payment clear while personal property is outstanding.
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File with the Clay County Assessor's Office at either the Piggott or the Corning counter. A 2026 bill carries a maximum credit of $600 under Act 330 of 2025, and from 2027 bills the maximum rises to $675 under HB1103, Act 174 of 2026. The credit is not automatic and only one residence per owner qualifies.
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Two reasons cover most cases. Your parcel uses its own school district row instead of the 51.42 mill county average, and the range from 45.44 to 60.49 mills is wide enough to move a bill by hundreds of dollars. Then Amendment 79 caps, or a senior freeze, can hold your taxable value below 20% of market value.
Nearby county pages
Official sources
Source of the 51.42 mill Clay County average and every per-district row in the table above.
Assessor Tracy Gurley, the Piggott and Corning counters, and the phone numbers used in the homestead and appeal sections.
Payment counters, published hours and the county's own collector contact details.
Where the current tax year is paid online, and the portal's own statement of which tax year it is accepting.
The assessor-sponsored parcel search, the parcel count, and the July 2026 data refresh dates quoted on this page.
The clerk, collector and treasurer phone numbers and the two courthouse addresses.
Clerk's office hours and the Piggott and Corning contact numbers used in the appeal section.
One of the two sources that disagree on the current Clay County clerk; recorded here rather than silently discarded.
State listing of the Clay County assessor's address and phone numbers.
The homestead credit, the Amendment 79 caps and the senior and disabled freeze.
Statutory text raising the homestead credit to $600 for assessment years from January 1, 2025.
Statutory text raising the homestead credit to $675 for assessment years from January 1, 2026.
The appeal filing deadline, hearing order, evidence rules and the five business day disclosure requirement.
Statewide parcel geometry covering Clay County, with the caveat that it is not a legal boundary.
The reappraisal cycle and contractor recorded for Clay County.