Prairie County Arkansas Property Tax Calculator

How Prairie County property taxes are calculated

Arkansas assesses real property at 20% of market value, and Prairie County multiplies that assessed figure by the total millage for the parcel's school district and city. One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. The $600 homestead credit comes off last and only a qualifying primary residence can claim it.

Here is the working for a $150,000 home in Hazen, inside the Hazen #2 district, which carries 56.33 mills for 2026 collections:

1. $150,000 market value times 20% equals $30,000 assessed value.
2. $30,000 times 56.33 divided by 1,000 equals $1,689.90 tax before credit.
3. Subtract the $600 homestead credit to reach $1,089.90 estimated annual tax, or $90.83 a month.

Move the same house into the rural tier of Des Arc #5 at 45.8 mills and the tax before credit falls to $1,374, or $774 after the credit. Identical house, about $316 less a year, decided by the district line rather than the property. Prairie County is also one of the few places on this site where the arithmetic can bottom out: at 52.13 mills a $50,000 home owes $521.30 before credit, less than the credit itself, so the net bill is zero.

Prairie County millage rates by district and city

Every row below is a taxing combination the state published for Prairie County for 2026 collections. School, city and county columns reconcile to the overall figure on each line. Prairie has five school districts touching its territory but only two of them carry city millage, which keeps the table short.

Prairie County rows are from the Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division 2025 Millage Report, covering 2026 collections and issued March 2026. The report lists ten taxing combinations for the county, all shown above.

Why Prairie County property tax rates differ by address

Prairie County's tax map is dominated by one line: the Hazen #2 district. Four of the five towns that levy a city tax sit inside it, and all four land on the same 56.33 mills. That makes 56.33 the dearest published combination in the county and 45.8, the rural tier of Des Arc #5, the cheapest, an overall spread of 10.53 mills.

• Cheapest combination: rural Des Arc #5 at 45.8 mills. It pairs a 35.8 mill school levy with the 10 mill county rate and no city tax. On a $96,400 home that is $883.02 before credit.
• Dearest combination: Hazen #2 with any city at 56.33 mills. Biscoe, DeValls Bluff, Hazen and Ulm all carry a flat 5 mill city levy, and Hazen #2 is the county's most expensive school district at 41.33 mills. On the same $96,400 home the tax before credit is $1,086.04, roughly $203 more than the rural Des Arc tier.
• A town and its own rural ring differ by exactly the city levy. Des Arc city pays 5 mills more than the Des Arc rural tier, which is 50.8 against 45.8. That is the cleanest illustration in the county of what incorporation costs.
• No Prairie city sits inside two school districts this year. The state report places each of the five towns in a single district, so the intra-county variation comes from school levies and from whether a city tax applies at all, not from boundary splits.
• Three districts fringe in from other counties. The report notes Beebe fringes from White County into Lonoke and Prairie, Carlisle fringes from Lonoke into Prairie, and Clarendon fringes from Monroe into Lee and Prairie. All three arrive as rural tiers with no Prairie city millage attached.

Source: Arkansas DFA Assessment Coordination Division, 2025 Millage Report (2026 Collections), Prairie County page and fringe district notes.

Prairie County cities and communities

Des Arc

Des Arc is the northern district seat and the largest town in the county. Its city levy is 5 mills of city general tax, and the town sits entirely inside the Des Arc #5 school district at 50.8 mills. The same 5 mill levy applies to a Des Arc address that falls in the rural tier, which is why Des Arc city runs 5 mills above its own rural ring.

DeValls Bluff

DeValls Bluff is the southern district seat and sits inside Hazen #2, not Des Arc #5, even though both towns are Prairie County seats. That single fact pushes it from 50.8 to 56.33 mills: a 5 mill city levy on top of the higher school district. It is the clearest example in the county of why the school district matters more than the town.

Hazen and Biscoe

Hazen and Biscoe both sit in Hazen #2 and both levy 5 city mills, so both land on 56.33 mills. Hazen is the county's largest incorporated place outside Des Arc and the school district that carries its name is the reason the whole eastern half of the county pays the top rate.

Ulm

Ulm is the smallest of the four incorporated towns in Hazen #2. It levies the same flat 5 mills as Hazen, Biscoe and DeValls Bluff, so a Ulm parcel pays 56.33 mills as well. Size of town has no bearing on the rate here; the levy is uniform across all four.

Rural Prairie County

Undeveloped and farm parcels outside town limits sit in one of the five rural tiers: 45.8 in Des Arc #5, 46.6 in Beebe #21, 49.4 in Clarendon #6, 51.33 in Hazen #2 or 52 in Carlisle #3. Rural parcels pay the county's 10 mill rate but no city tax.

Prairie County Assessor

Official name: Prairie County Assessor's Office. The assessor maintains the county's real and personal property rolls, sets assessed values, tracks ownership from recorded deeds, and administers the homestead credit. Payment is not this office's job; that belongs to the collector.

Prairie County has no independent county website. The address prairiecounty.arkansas.gov resolves to the state's Arkansas.gov county portal, which is where the county's official contact details are hosted.

Source conflict worth knowing: the state portal at portal.arkansas.gov/counties/prairie still lists Jeannie Lott as the Prairie County assessor at the same phone number and address. The Arkansas DFA county officials directory and the Arkansas Legislative Audit report for Prairie County both point to Karan Skarda, with the audit recording Skarda's appointment on August 8, 2023 and Lott's passing on June 23, 2023. The DFA directory is the more current listing, so this page publishes Skarda, and the stale portal entry is labelled rather than silently dropped.

Prairie County Collector

Official name: Prairie County Collector's Office. In Prairie County the collector is also the sheriff, so the office is listed as Sheriff and Collector. The collector bills and collects real and personal property tax and does not set values. Value disputes belong to the assessor.

A second source conflict sits on this office. The state portal still lists Rick Hickman as collector at the same (870) 256-4137 number, and the Arkansas Legislative Audit report for Prairie County records Hickman's resignation on March 1, 2023, with Rick Parson appointed Sheriff and Collector on May 11, 2023. The ARCountyData Prairie County tax record page, sponsored by the collector, names Rick Parson with the same phone and fax numbers, so that is the value published here. Separately, the state's own online payment portal for Prairie County prints (870) 256-4764 as the collector's number, which is a third figure that has not been reconciled by any official page.

How to find a Prairie County parcel's exact tax

Prairie County runs its public property records through ARCountyData, the platform the collector sponsors, and takes payments through the state's CountyService.net portal. There is no county-built search system, so these two sites are the full official route.

1. Open the Prairie County page on ARCountyData and choose Search Tax Records / Receipts. The collector sponsors a free search there, so no account is needed for basic records.
2. Search by owner name, address or parcel number. Prairie County's parcel count on that platform is 11,404.
3. On the parcel record, read the market value and the assessed value. Arkansas assessed value is 20% of market value, so the two should differ by exactly that factor unless an Amendment 79 cap or a freeze applies.
4. Note the school district and whether the address is inside a city. Those two fields select the row in the millage table above.
5. For the amount actually billed, use the CountyService.net payment portal for Prairie County, which was accepting tax year 2025 payments when this page was last checked.

Sources: www.arcountydata.com/county.asp?county=Prair taxpayment.countyservice.net/County?name=pra

Paying Prairie County property taxes

Prairie County's tax books run from the first business day in March to October 15, and October 15 is the last day to pay without penalty. The collector's office is at 200 Courthouse Square, Suite 101 in Des Arc, and payments can be made in person there or by mail to the same address.

Online payment runs through the Arkansas CountyService.net portal. That portal reported accepting tax year 2025 payments when this page was last checked. Prairie County's collector page does not publish a card or convenience fee schedule, so budget for a processor fee if you pay by card and confirm the amount on the checkout screen before you submit.

Homestead credit in Prairie County

The Arkansas homestead credit reduces property tax on a qualifying primary residence, and it is not automatic: you apply through the assessor's office in the county where the home sits, and in Prairie County that means the assessor's office at 200 Courthouse Square in Des Arc.

Two maximums matter because they land on different bills. A bill you pay in 2026 reflects a maximum credit of $600. From the 2027 tax bills the maximum rises to $675. The calculator on this page models a 2026 bill and therefore uses $600.

The state DFA property tax relief page still describes a base credit of up to $500 and notes the increase to $600 beginning with the 2026 tax bills, so it has not yet been updated for the 2027 figure. Use the two rows above for a bill you are paying now, and treat any $500 figure you see on an older state page as superseded. The same page confirms one credit per household per year and describes the age 65 or disabled assessed value freeze, which is applied for at the same assessor's office. Step by step filing instructions are in how to claim the Arkansas homestead credit.

Appealing a Prairie County assessment

Start with the assessor. Arkansas law gives a property owner the right to an informal hearing with the assessor or a representative before any formal petition, and that conversation usually settles valuation questions without a hearing.

If it does not, the next step is a written application to the Prairie County Board of Equalization. Statewide rules set the application deadline at the third Monday in August each year, and the application may be made in person, by letter or by petition. The county clerk's office serves as secretary to the equalization board in Arkansas counties, so that office is the filing route.

At the hearing the assessor presents the case for the valuation first, then the owner presents evidence, then the assessor may rebut. Bring records for comparable properties: parcel records showing estimated market values and recent sale prices for similar homes in the same area are the most persuasive evidence, and a private appraisal also carries weight. The board then either accepts or changes the assessor's value, and it must notify you in writing after the hearing.

Prairie County does not publish a board of equalization page with local hearing dates, so no county-specific deadline is quoted here; use the statewide third-Monday-in-August rule and confirm the date with the county clerk. The broader process, including what happens after a board decision, is covered in how to appeal a property tax assessment in Arkansas and in the site's appeal guide.

Prairie County property tax examples

Every row below uses the Prairie County average of 52.13 mills for 2026 collections with one $600 homestead credit applied. They are estimates: your parcel sits in one specific district and city combination.

Calculated at the 52.13 mill Prairie County average for 2026 collections. The $50,000 row nets to zero because the $600 credit exceeds the $521.30 it generates.

Prairie County median home value and median tax

This section is historical and statistical information for comparison. None of it feeds the calculator, and none of it describes your individual parcel.

Prairie County's surveyed median home value of $96,400 pairs with a median annual real estate tax of $696 in the Census tables, which works out to an effective rate near 0.72%. That is the highest effective rate among the five counties rebuilt in this batch, and it comes from a high county average millage sitting on top of low property values.

The gap between the median bill and a millage-derived figure is the part worth understanding. Multiplying $96,400 by the 20% assessment ratio and the 52.13 mill average implies roughly $1,005 before credit, well above the surveyed $696. Amendment 79 caps hold taxable value below full assessed value, and many Prairie parcels sit in the cheaper rural tiers rather than in the 56.33 mill towns. Use the Census numbers for context and the calculator above for any planning figure.

Sources: B25077, median value; B25103, median tax; B01003, population. These are survey estimates and carry sampling error.

Prairie County property tax questions

• What is the property tax rate in Prairie County Arkansas?+

  The county average total millage is 52.13 mills for 2026 collections, blending 39.63 school mills, 5.00 city mills and 10.00 county mills. Published combinations run from 45.8 mills in the rural Des Arc #5 tier to 56.33 mills for any of Biscoe, DeValls Bluff, Hazen or Ulm inside Hazen #2.

• How do I look up a Prairie County parcel and its tax?+

  Prairie County records sit on ARCountyData, which the collector sponsors and which carries about 11,404 parcels. Search by owner, address or parcel number, then read the market and assessed values and note the school district and city, because those two fields pick the millage row. Actual amounts billed and receipts come through the CountyService.net payment portal.

• Where do I pay Prairie County property taxes?+

  In person or by mail at the Prairie County Collector, 200 Courthouse Square, Suite 101, Des Arc, AR 72040, or online through the Arkansas CountyService.net portal, which was accepting tax year 2025 payments when this page was last checked. Prairie County does not publish a card fee schedule, so confirm the processor fee on the checkout screen.

• Why can two homes of equal value in Prairie County have different bills?+

  Because the school district and the city levy differ by address. A $96,400 home in the rural Des Arc #5 tier generates $883.02 before credit at 45.8 mills, while the same home in Hazen at 56.33 mills generates $1,086.04. The 10.53 mill difference, not the house, drives the gap.

• Which parts of Prairie County pay the highest rate?+

  Biscoe, DeValls Bluff, Hazen and Ulm, all at 56.33 mills. All four sit inside the Hazen #2 school district, the county's most expensive at 41.33 mills, and all four levy a flat 5 mill city tax. DeValls Bluff is the notable case because it is a county seat yet pays 5.53 mills more than Des Arc, the other seat.

• How much is the homestead credit in Prairie County?+

  A bill you pay in 2026 carries a maximum credit of $600. From the 2027 tax bills the maximum rises to $675. You apply once through the Prairie County Assessor's Office in Des Arc, and only a primary residence qualifies, with one credit per household per year.

• Does the $600 credit cover a small Prairie County tax bill?+

  Sometimes it does. At the 52.13 mill county average a $50,000 home generates $521.30 of tax before credit, so the $600 credit wipes it out and the net bill is zero. The credit cannot produce a refund, so anything above the tax owed is simply not used.

• What should I do if I disagree with my Prairie County valuation?+

  Ask the assessor's office for an informal review first, since Arkansas law provides for one before any formal filing. If that does not resolve it, apply to the Prairie County Board of Equalization through the county clerk no later than the third Monday in August, and bring parcel records and sale prices for comparable properties.

Nearby county pages

Official sources