Rebates shift sales tax revenue results in Bentonville
by May 27, 2026 9:45 am 962 views
Three of the four largest Northwest Arkansas cities reported flat sales tax revenue growth in their May reports. Bentonville was the exception. Total sales tax revenue in the four cities equaled $10.416 million, up 23.51%, skewed by the Bentonville results.
Year-to-date cumulative sales tax revenue for the four cities totals $48.815 million, up 2.41% from a year ago.
Bentonville is off to another wild year of month-to-month swings because of large rebates tied to Walmart’s home office campus construction, its expanded retail space, and other large-scale projects. Bentonville’s revenue reported in May totaled $2.623 million, up 310.87% from a year ago when revenue was down 72.9% year over year due to a $4.38 million rebate that month. Bentonville’s revenue through May totaled $11.436 million, up 9.46% from a year ago, and revenue has been offset by $3.009 million in rebates through April of this year.
Rogers reported sales tax revenue of $2.702 million in the May report, up 0.49% from a year ago. The weak growth reported in May came on the heels of 15.2% revenue growth reported in April. Through the first five months of this year, Rogers reports tax revenue of $12.885 million, up 0.9% from a year ago. The city’s sales tax revenue is below the budgeted target of 2.3% for the year. The rebates against Rogers’ sales tax revenue are trending lower than a year ago and total $721,221 through April.
Springdale’s sales tax revenue in the May report totaled $2.185 million for the month, down 0.69% from a year ago. Springdale is the only city in the group that has not posted a month of positive growth this year. For the first five months of reports, Springdale’s sales tax revenue totaled $10.425 million, down 2.74% from the same period in 2025. Revenue has been offset by rebates totaling $1.223 million through April.
Fayetteville reported revenue of $2.905 million, down 0.02% from a year ago. This comes on the heels of a 7.27% gain reported in April and 5.07% gain in March. Through the May report, Fayetteville’s sales tax revenue totals $14.067 million, up 2.13% from a year ago. Rebates are trending higher this year in Fayetteville than in the past three years. Revenue has been offset by $1.707 million in rebates through April.
REVENUE RESULTS
Following are sales tax revenue totals from January to May reports.
Bentonville
2026: $11.436 million
2025: $10.447 million
up 9.46%
Fayetteville
2026: $14.067 million
2025: $13.773 million
up 2.13%
Rogers
2026: $12.885 million
2025: $12.772 million
up 0.9%
Springdale
2026: $10.425 million
2025: $10.719 million
down 2.74%