Loading...
Loading...
The poundage and the Small Business Bonus Scheme are set nationally — the same in every one of Scotland's 32 councils. Here's the 2026/27 bill, who pays nothing, what actually varies where you are, and a lookup for your council.
Basic Property Rate
48.1p
per £1 of rateable value
Pay nothing under
£12,000
rateable value (SBBS 100%)
Same in all
32 councils
poundage is national
By Gary at MoneySCOT · 2026/27 · Rates verified against gov.scot / mygov.scot · Data: Scottish Government, mygov.scot
Unlike council tax, Scottish business rates are not set locally. The Scottish Government fixes a single national poundage and a single Small Business Bonus Scheme that apply identically in Aberdeen, Glasgow, the Highlands and everywhere in between. A £14,000-rateable-value shop pays exactly the same rates whether it's in Dumfries or Dundee. So the number you're after is on this one page — no need for a separate page per council.
Three things do vary by council: Empty Property Relief (devolved since April 2023), any Business Improvement District levy in your town centre, and how you pay. Those are covered below, with a direct link to every council.
Your gross bill is rateable value × poundage. The rateable value is the Assessor's estimate of your property's annual open-market rent (revalued in April 2026). Once the RV crosses a threshold, the higher poundage applies to the whole value — it is not a sliced band system like income tax.
The April 2026 revaluation cut the Basic Property Rate from 49.8p to 48.1p. Scotland's Basic rate is lower than England's small-business multiplier (49.9p, frozen since 2020/21).
The Small Business Bonus Scheme(SBBS) is Scotland's flagship relief and more generous than England's equivalent. It looks at the combinedrateable value of everything you occupy in Scotland — not just one property.
| Combined rateable value | SBBS relief |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,000 | 100% — pay nothing |
| £12,001 – £15,000 | Tapered, up to 25% (per property ≤ £15,000) |
| £15,001 – £20,000 | Tapers 25% → 0% |
| Over £20,000 per property, or combined over £35,000 | No SBBS relief |
Worked example (identical in every council): a shop with a rateable value of £14,000. Gross bill = £14,000 × 48.1p = £6,734/year. Because £14,000 sits in the £12,001–£15,000 band, up to 25% SBBS relief applies — so the same shop pays the same reduced bill in Stirling, Fife or the Western Isles. The postcode changes nothing.
SBBS is not automatic — apply to your council. Model any rateable value, including the taper, with the business rates calculator.
Devolved to each council from 1 April 2023, and re-established in law by the Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Act 2026. Your council decides what relief (if any) applies while premises sit empty — so this is the one figure genuinely worth checking on your own council's site.
Scotland has 30-plus BIDs — defined town-centre areas where businesses fund extra services through a mandatory levy on top of rates, usually based on rateable value. They cover specific streets, not whole councils. Most addresses aren't in one; if yours is, the levy appears alongside your rates bill.
Billing and collection are run by your council — instalment dates, direct-debit set-up and the rates team you contact if you can't pay. National reliefs (SBBS, charitable, rural, Fresh Start) are also applied for through your council.
Every Scottish council bills the same national poundage — but you pay, apply for relief and check your local Empty Property Relief policy on its own site. To appeal a rateable value, use the Scottish Assessors' portal (it routes you to the right Assessor by postcode). Not sure which council you're in? Use find your local council.
Links go to each council's official website — search “business rates” or “non-domestic rates” there for its payment and relief pages. Also on MoneySCOT: the same council roots power our council tax comparison.
No — not the core bill. The poundage (48.1p Basic Property Rate for 2026/27) and the Small Business Bonus Scheme are set nationally by the Scottish Government and are identical in all 32 councils. This is different from council tax, where each council sets its own Band D rate. What does vary locally is narrow: Empty Property Relief (devolved to councils since April 2023), any Business Improvement District (BID) levy in your town centre, and how you pay.
The poundage is the multiplier applied to your rateable value. For 2026/27 it is 48.1p (Basic Property Rate, rateable value up to £51,000), 53.5p (Intermediate Property Rate, £51,001–£100,000) and 54.8p (Higher Property Rate, over £100,000). The April 2026 revaluation reduced the Basic rate from 49.8p and split the old supplement into two tiers.
A property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less pays nothing — 100% relief — provided the combined rateable value of everything you occupy in Scotland is £35,000 or less. Relief then tapers from £12,001 up to £20,000. SBBS is not automatic — you apply to your local council.
Yes — this is one of the few genuinely local parts. Empty Property Relief was devolved to individual councils from 1 April 2023, and the Non-Domestic Rates (Liability for Unoccupied Properties) (Scotland) Act 2026 re-established councils' power to charge rates on empty properties. Each council decides what relief (if any) to offer owners of unoccupied premises, so check your own council's non-domestic rates pages for its current policy.
A Business Improvement District (BID) is a defined area — usually a town or city centre — where businesses vote to fund extra local services through a mandatory BID levy, charged on top of your rates and usually based on rateable value. Scotland has 30-plus BIDs, but they cover specific streets, not whole councils. If your premises sit inside a BID boundary you'll be billed the levy; most Scottish addresses are not in one.
Your rateable value is set by the local Assessor, not your council. Search your valuation and lodge a proposal through the Scottish Assessors' portal, which routes you to the right Assessor by postcode. Reducing your RV lowers your bill and can increase your Small Business Bonus entitlement.
Business rates are billed and collected by your local council, normally in monthly instalments from April. Find your council in the lookup below and use its non-domestic rates pages to pay, set up a direct debit, or contact its rates team. If you can't pay, contact the council early — they can arrange instalments.
Disclaimer: Figures are for the 2026/27 financial year and set nationally by the Scottish Government (poundage and Small Business Bonus Scheme). Empty Property Relief, any BID levy, and payment arrangements are set locally — verify these with your own council. Rateable values are set by the Scottish Assessors. MoneySCOT is not a financial or tax adviser; nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
Sources: Scottish Government — Non-domestic rates, mygov.scot — Non-domestic rates relief, Scottish Assessors Association.