Business rates

The Scottish Government has developed a business rates calculator which will give you a provisional indication of your bill.

Establishing the rateable value of a property

Every few years, independent Scottish Assessors give a legally defined rateable value for your non-domestic property. This is broadly based on a property’s annual market rent which is influenced by size, use and location.

What matters during a revaluation is whether your rateable value has gone up or down relative to the national average. Broadly, businesses in areas or industries doing well should expect their rateable values to increase, and firms in depressed areas should expect them to decrease. However, even small changes to your rateable value could make you eligible for (or disqualify you from) rates relief.

The Assessor will issue a Valuation Notice to the Proprietor, Tenant, and Occupier named in the Valuation Roll when the Valuation Roll is amended - for example, Revaluation Notices were issued following the 2023 Revaluation.

Alternatively, you can search for the rateable value for any specific property via the Scottish Assessors Association website and putting in the address or postcode.

Submitting an appeal for a property valuation

You can challenge a decision about the rateable value of your property, as well as any non-domestic rates relief awarded.

Before making a challenge, you should make sure you understand how your rateable value and bill were calculated.

From 1 April 2023 there is a two-stage process for appeals

1. First make a ‘proposal’ challenging the rateable value to the assessor who valued the property. They may change your valuation upwards or downwards.
2. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the proposal, you usually then make an appeal to the Local Taxation Chamber of the Scottish Tribunals.

Full information about the appeals process is available on the mygov.scot website.

Calculating the annual rates payable

The Scottish Government specifies bands of rateable value - e.g. up to £51,000; £51,000 to £100,000; over £100,000 - and then assigns a poundage rate for each band, e.g. 49.8p

Business rates are calculated by:

• multiplying the rateable value by the poundage rate.
• subtracting any reliefs or discounts
• adjusting any previous over or under payments.

Usually the poundage increases each year by the rate of inflation to ensure that the same amount of money (in real terms) is collected each year.

The Scottish Government has developed a business rates calculator which will give you a provisional indication of the bill for any property.

The Scottish Government’s Small Business Bonus scheme means that many smaller Scottish businesses pay no business rates. For example ratepayers with only one domestic property with a rateable value up to £12,000 will receive 100% relief.

There are various rate relief scenarios depending on the number of properties a ratepayer has and the total value of these.

You may also be eligible for other rate relief schemes too, through the Small Business Bonus Scheme for example:

• Reliefs for empty or newly re-occupied properties
• Charity Rate Relief
• Business Growth Accelerator Relief
• Hardship Relief
• Rural Rate Relief
• Disabled Persons Relief
• Enterprise Areas Relief
• Transitional Reliefs
• District Heating Relief
• Renewable Energy Generation Relief
• Day Nursery Relief
• Telecommunications Relief

Councils are able to grant discretionary relief to businesses in their local area, though often only in exceptional circumstances. Councils may also allow firms to defer payment in special circumstances. Do get in touch with your council as early as possible if you’re finding payment difficult.

Check the most up to date information on the non-domestic rates section of the Scottish Government website.

Speak to your local Business Gateway office for more help and information about business rates.