Below is a list of Business Reliefs and a brief explanation of what each type is and the criteria required to qualify. If you feel you may qualify for any of these rate reliefs, you should contact the council, contact details of which are shown on the previous page.
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Small Business Bonus Scheme - New from 01/04/08! - View further information
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Small Business Rates Relief - If you occupy a non-domestic property which has a rateable value of £11,500 or less then you will be eligible for a discount of between 5% and 50% on the rate poundage. View further information.
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Your property is empty and unused - In general, there will be no business rates to pay for the first three months that the property is empty. After that, your rates bill will be calculated by taking the rateable value of the non-domestic property you occupy and multiplying this by one half of the current non domestic poundage rate. However for some properties e.g. industrial and listed buildings, and properties with rateable values of less than £1700, you do not have to pay business rates at all.
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Part of your property is not being used and is completely unoccupied for a short time - In these circumstances the council may consider giving you relief to reduce the amount you have to pay. However, the council will only do this if they decide you are entitled to relief and if part of your property is clearly beyond use for a period of time.
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Your organisation is a registered charity and the property occupied by your organisation is used "wholly or mainly for charitable purposes", you may be entitled to 80% mandatory rates relief. It is up to the each council to determine whether a property is being used "wholly or mainly for charitable purposes". Your council also has discretion powers to top this relief, up to 100%.
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Your organisation is a not a charity but is another type of non-profit-making organisation - You are not automatically entitled to relief, but councils have discretionary powers to grant up to 100% rate relief. To qualify, your organisation must be charitable, religious, or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts, or the property must be used by a non-profit-making organisation and used wholly or mainly for the purpose of recreation.
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Your business is in a rural settlement with a population below 3000, and in an area designated as rural by Scottish Ministers- The types of business that qualify for this relief are:
- the only general store or post office with a rateable value of £7000 or less.
- a food shop with a rateable value of £7000 or less.
- the only public house/small hotel (with appropriate license), with a rateable value of £10,500 or less.
- a petrol filling station with a rateable value of £10,5000 or less.
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These premises are entitled to mandatory 50% rate relief, with councils having discretionary powers to top this relief up, up to 100%. Councils also have discretionary powers to grant up to 100% rate relief to properties with a rateable value of £14,000 or less, used for purposes which are beneficial to the local community.
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Farm diversification rates relief - A 50 per cent mandatory rate relief scheme for lands and buildings, with a rateable value of £7,000 or less, used for non-agricultural purposes on what had previously been agricultural lands and buildings. Local councils have a discretionary power to increase the relief up to 100 per cent.
