What a taxable index-fund account is actually worth after expense-ratio drag and after Arkansas takes its share of the gain — which, in most states, is not at the federal preferential rate.
Arkansas lets some or all of a long-term gain escape state tax, which is unusual and worth planning around. ARKANSAS IS ONE OF THE MINORITY OF STATES WITH A REAL LONG-TERM CAPITAL GAINS PREFERENCE, AND IT HAS TWO SEPARATE TIERS. TIER ONE: only 50% of net LONG-TERM capital gain is taxed -- form AR1000D line 8 reads 'Arkansas taxable amount. If a gain multiply line 7b by 50 percent (.50), otherwise enter loss.' At the 3.9% top rate that makes the effective Arkansas rate on a qualifying long-term gain 1.95%. SHORT-TERM GAINS GET NO EXCLUSION: AR1000D lines 9 through 11 carry the federal short-term gain across in full, and line 12 adds the 50%-reduced long-term figure to the 100% short-term figure. The exclusionPct recorded above therefore applies to LONG-TERM gains only. TIER TWO, THE HIGH-DOLLAR EXEMPTION: net capital gain in excess of ten million dollars, from a gain realised on or after January 1, 2014, is entirely exempt from state tax. AR1000D implements it by capping the amount carried into the 50% computation: line 7b instructs that 'if the amount on line 7a is over $10,000,000, only enter $10,000,000. If less than $10,000,000, enter the total amount.' So a $25,000,000 long-term gain is taxed as though it were $10,000,000, half of which is taxable -- $5,000,000 of Arkansas taxable income on a $25,000,000 gain. Capital LOSS deductibility follows the federal limit of $3,000 ($1,500 per taxpayer for filing status 4 or 5), with carryover. Gain on the sale of a personal residence is exempt up to $250,000 per taxpayer ($500,000 joint), matching the federal exclusion.
What your state actually takes from a 401(k) withdrawal, a pension, and Social Security — in dollars, not a yes/no list.
2026 limits, employer match, the 60-63 super catch-up, and whether the Roth catch-up mandate applies to you.
When your RMDs start under SECURE 2.0, how much this year's is, and what missing it costs.
A required minimum distribution is ordinary income, taxed at your top bracket and often pushing you into the next one. Here is the federal tax on RMDs from $20,000 to $75,000 at different income levels, why the default 10% withholding usually leaves a bill, how to avoid an underpayment penalty, and the three side effects that make the real rate higher than the bracket.
The required minimum distribution on every common balance at every age from 73 to 95, worked from the IRS table, plus what happens to the account over twenty years of withdrawals at 0%, 5% and 7% returns. The short version: the share you must take rises every year, and at good returns the dollar amount keeps rising with it.
What moving actually saves, on your own income mix rather than a headline rate — and how to establish domicile so the state you left cannot follow you.
Which account to draw first, priced. The three cliffs a withdrawal can cross without warning, the conversion window almost nobody uses, and why the order is the last big decision you can still change.