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Non-domestic rates relief

Small Business Bonus Scheme

Last updated
1 Apr 2023

You can get non-domestic rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme if all of these are true:

  • the combined rateable value of all your business premises is £35,000 or less
  • the rateable values of individual premises are £20,000 or less
  • the property is actively occupied

It's free to apply for rates relief, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme. You should be wary of anyone who proposes to apply on your behalf for a fee.

Use our non-domestic rates calculator to estimate your non-domestic rates bill.

Rates relief for small businesses is handled differently in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Visit GOV.UK's rates relief for small businesses to find out more.

The benefits

For ratepayers with only one non-domestic property with a rateable value:

  • up to £12,000 - 100% relief (no rates payable) 
  • from £12,001 to £15,000 - scales from 100% to 25% relief
  • from £15,001 to £20,000 – scales from 25% to 0% relief

For ratepayers with more than one property and where the total (cumulative) rateable value of all your non-domestic properties is £12,000 or less, the relief is 100% (no rates payable).

For ratepayers with more than one property and where the total rateable value of all your non-domestic properties is between £12,001 and £35,000, then relief: 

  • is 25% on each individual property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less 
  • scales from 25% to 0% for individual properties with rateable values from £15,001 to £20,000

If you fail to declare additional business properties occupied in Scotland on your application, this may constitute fraud and appropriate action may be taken.

The Small Business Bonus Scheme is not available to advertisements, car parks, betting shops and payday lending businesses.

Apply for the Small Business Bonus Scheme

You can apply for the Small Business Bonus Scheme through your local council by completing an application form. You should be able to find this on your local council's website. The application form asks for your name, address and rateable value of the business property you occupy and to sign a declaration for anti-fraud purposes. You don't need to declare sensitive information such as turnover or number of staff.

Aberdeen City Council Aberdeenshire Council Angus Council Argyll and Bute Council Clackmannanshire Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) Dumfries & Galloway Council Dundee City Council East Ayrshire Council East Dunbartonshire Council East Lothian Council East Renfrewshire Council Edinburgh Council Falkirk Council Fife Council Glasgow City Council Highland Council Inverclyde Council Midlothian Council Moray Council North Ayrshire Council North Lanarkshire Council Orkney Islands Council Perth & Kinross Council Renfrewshire Council Scottish Borders Council Shetland Council South Ayrshire Council South Lanarkshire Council Stirling Council West Dunbartonshire Council West Lothian Council

You may also be able to apply for Small Business Transitional Relief because of changes from the 2023 Revaluation. 

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