Find out what reductions and reliefs you may qualify for to reduce your business rates bill.
Use the reductions and reliefs form to:
Apply for business rates reductions and reliefs
We'll review your application and let you know if you qualify. It can take up to 30 days and we may ask you for more information to help us make a decision.
Find out about each discount by clicking the + plus signs.
Your property may qualify for rural rates relief if it is in a rural settlement with less than 3000 residents. If your property qualifies you will not have to pay business rates for that property.
You may qualify if you run one of the following types of businesses and the rateable value is not above the relevant limit:
| Type of business | Maximum rateable value |
|---|---|
| Village shop | £8,500 |
| Post office | £8,500 |
| Fuel filling station | £12,750 |
| Hotel | £12,750 |
| Public house | £12,750 |
| Small food store | £8,500 |
Your property may qualify for charitable rate relief if it's mainly used by:
If your property qualifies your bill could be reduced by:
If you qualify for the maximum relief you will not have to pay business rates for that property.
Your property may qualify for disabled rates relief if you provide the following services for people that are ill or disabled:
At least half of the floor space must be used for these purposes.
If your property qualifies your bill could be reduced by up to 100%.
Your property may qualify for Business Growth Accelerator relief if it was built, expanded or improved after 1 April 2018.
If your property qualifies there will be no business rates to pay for 12 months after the building is completed and occupied.
If your property qualifies the rate paid will be based on the existing rateable value for 12 months, with no additional charges that would normally be due if the rateable value has increased because of the work done on your premises.
Your property may qualify for renewable energy generation relief if:
To qualify you need to be producing heat or power from any of the following sources:
The amount of relief depends on the total rateable value of all properties you own in Scotland.
| Combined rateable value of all your business properties in Scotland | Relief available |
|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 100% |
| £145,000 to £430,000 | 50% |
| £430,001 to £860,000 | 25% |
| £860,001 to £4,000,000 | 10% |
| Over £4,000,000 | 2.5% |
You can apply for 60% relief for individual properties if both of the following apply:
This 60% relief will be available until 2032.
There are 6 criteria used to assess eligibility for each business:
Any new land or heritage entered into the valuation roll from 1 April 2016 that is used solely for the generation of renewable heat or power may qualify for relief of:
Your property may qualify for the small business bonus scheme if the rateable value of your property is less than £20,000. This is not available for empty properties.
The amount of relief depends on the total rateable value of all properties you own in Scotland.
| Rateable value for one property | Relief available |
|---|---|
| £12,000 or less | 100% |
| £12,001 to £15,000 | From 100% to 25% |
| £15,001 to £20,000 | From 25% to 0% |
| Combined rateable value of all your business properties in Scotland | Relief available |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,000 | 100% for all properties |
| £12,001 to £15,000 | 25% on each property with a rateable value of £15,000 or less |
| £15,001 to £35,000 | From 25% to 0% for individual properties with rateable values from £15,001 to £20,000 |
The following types of property are not eligible for small business bonus relief:
Your property may qualify for unoccupied property relief from when the property was last occupied.
The relief available is:
Your property may qualify for day nursery relief of 100% if it's used only, or mainly, as a nursery school.
Your business may qualify for Fresh Start Relief if the property:
This relief gives a 100% business rates discount for a year.
The general revaluation transitional relief caps bill increases caused by the 2026 revaluation. It is available if the rateable value of your property increased on 1 April 2026.
The level of relief is determined by the rateable value before 31 March 2026 and the new rateable value from 1 April 2026.
| Rateable value | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £20,000 | 15% | 22% | 38% |
| £20,001 to £100,000 | 30% | 44% | 75% |
| Over £100,000 | 50% | 75% | 113% |
Small Business Transitional Relief helps businesses whose rates bill increases because they lose rates relief from 1 April 2026.
Instead of paying the full increase straight away, the change is phased in over time.
This relief applies if you lose eligibility for:
The relief limits how much your rates bill can increase each year:
A separate transitional relief is available for self‑catering properties.
This applies to properties that see the largest increases in rateable value at revaluation and will run until the next revaluation in 2029.
Instead of the general Revaluation Transitional Relief announced at the Budget, increases in gross rates bills for eligible self‑catering properties will be limited each year.
For properties with the biggest increases, rates bills will be capped at:
These figures show the maximum cumulative increase compared to the 2025 to 2026 rates bill.
Your property or land may qualify for unoccupied property relief from when the property was last occupied.
The relief available is:
Shooting Rights are only eligible for Small Business Bonus Relief from 1st April 2026 if one of the following applies:
Furthermore, any deer shot must be made available for human consumption as venison.
No small business bonus relief is available for any other purpose i.e. commercial or sports shooting.
Deer forests are only eligible for Small Business Bonus Relief where shooting rights on them are exercised solely for the purposes of environmental management or for preventing damage to woodland or to agricultural production, or for a combination of these purposes.
Furthermore, any deer shot must be made available for human consumption as venison.
Deer forests where shooting rights are not exercised are also eligible for this relief.
Telecommunications relief is available from business rates to any provider of new fibre infrastructure for telecommunication. It is available for up to ten years until 31 March 2031.
To qualify for this relief, you must meet the legal criteria.
Telecommunications new fibre infrastructure is:
The fibre of that infrastructure:
From 1 April 2026 Retail hospitality and leisure relief of 15% is available for general specified properties if the rateable value is below £100,000 and relief of 40% is available for Hospitality and Music specified properties.
This relief is capped at £110,000 per ratepayer on all properties they occupy in Scotland. The ratepayer is responsible for ensuring they do not exceed this cap.
The following types of properties can claim this relief:
Class 1 Bed and breakfast accommodation or guest house
Class 2 Camping site
Class 3 Caravan
Class 4 Caravan site
Class 5 Chalet, holiday hut or bothy
Class 6 Self-catering holiday accommodation.
Class 7 Timeshare accommodation
Class 8 Market
Use as a shop, being a building or part of a building that is used for the retail sale of goods to members of the public who visit the building to buy goods for consumption or use elsewhere, whether or not by the buyer, for purposes unconnected with a trade or business.
Used as an art gallery or centre, sports club, sports centre, sports ground, clubhouse, gymnasium, museum, cinema, theatre, ticket office, recreational centre, recreational ground, park, bingo hall, tourist attraction or tourist facility.
Use as an amusement arcade, but excluding any lands and heritages on which any licence allows the operation of a sub-category B2 gaming machine, within the meaning of regulation 5(5) of the Categories of Gaming Machine Regulations 2007(6).
Use as a theme park, soft play centre, or as a venue for recreational activities such as ten pin bowling, laser tag, paint balling, escape rooms or miniature golf.
Use as a venue for lectures or lessons undertaken for recreational purposes, such as language lessons, music and dance lessons, or pottery and arts lessons.
Used to provide hair and beauty services, shoe repairs, key cutting, photo processing, laundry services, car or tool hire, car washing or repair of domestic/electrical goods.
Use as a public hall or venue for hire for events or activities, where the events or activities are principally for the benefit of visiting members of the public.
Use as a venue for meetings of voluntary associations.
Used as a venue for meetings and activities of youth organisations, such as a scout hut.
Use as a hotel or hostel, where no significant element of care is provided.
Use as a venue to host live music events where both of the following conditions is satisfied:
the premises are used as an indoor, permanent venue operating all-year round, and
the venue is used to host live music events for a public audience
Use as a public house or nightclub where each of the following conditions are satisfied:
a premises licence authorising the sale of alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises has been issued by a licensing board under section 26 (issue of licence and summary) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005(7)
)the premises are used for such sales to members of the public, principally for consumption on the premises, in accordance with the operating plan contained in the premises licence, and
the operating plan contained in the premises licence does not include any provision that such sales are made subject to those members of the public residing at, or consuming food on, the premises
Use for the sale of food or refreshments to members of the public for consumption on those premises, including any café, coffee shop, bistro, fast food restaurant or snack bar that is so used.”
Our non-domestic rates reliefs policy details the criteria for awarding reliefs and reductions.
Below is a list of recipients of Business Rates relief as at 1 February 2026: