How the bill is calculated
A Scottish rates bill is a two-part sum. Take the property's rateable value, multiply it by the poundage for the band that rateable value falls into, then take off any relief you qualify for.
The rateable value is set by the Scottish Assessors. Your council does not set it, and neither does the Valuation Office Agency, which handles England and Wales. It is broadly the open market annual rent the property could command at the valuation date, and it is reassessed at revaluation. Your own rateable value and the breakdown behind it are published on the Scottish Assessors Association website, which is worth looking at before you accept a bill.
For 2026/27 the poundage runs in three tiers, all of which fell from the previous year.
| Rate | Rateable value | Pence in the pound |
|---|---|---|
| Basic property rate | Rateable value up to £51,000 | 48.1p |
| Intermediate property rate | £51,001 – £100,000 | 53.5p |
| Higher property rate | Over £100,000 | 54.8p |
The Small Business Bonus Scheme
This is the relief that matters most to the businesses we work with, and it is considerably more generous than the English equivalent. Relief for a single property works like this:
| Rateable value | Relief |
|---|---|
| Up to £12,000 | 100% — no rates payable |
| £12,001 – £15,000 | Tapers from 100% down to 25% |
| £15,001 – £20,000 | Tapers from 25% down to 0% |
To qualify at all, three conditions have to hold together: the combined rateable value of all your business premises is £35,000 or less, each individual property is £20,000 or less, and the property is actively occupied. If a short-term let licence is required for the property, you need to hold a valid one.
- Gross bill: £11,000 × 48.1p£5,291
- Small Business Bonus relief100%
Rates billnothing
For a business turning over £150,000 it is well over 3% of turnover.
Where there are several properties, the combined rateable value drives the treatment: up to £12,000 combined gives 100% relief, £12,001 to £15,000 gives 25% on each property valued at £15,000 or less, and between £15,001 and £35,000 combined the relief tapers away for properties in the £15,001 to £20,000 range.
Larger rates bills
Above the Small Business Bonus thresholds the arithmetic gets blunt quickly, and the tiering means a rateable value crossing £51,000 or £100,000 costs more than the extra value alone.
- Above the SBBS ceiling, basic rate£30,000 × 48.1p
Rates bill£14,430
- Intermediate rate£60,000 × 53.5p
Rates bill£32,100
- Higher rate£120,000 × 54.8p
Rates bill£65,760
For most businesses this is the third or fourth largest cost in the accounts after wages, stock and rent. It is also the one where a successful appeal against the valuation produces a saving that repeats every year until the next revaluation.
The reliefs beyond the Small Business Bonus
SBBS is the headline, but it is not the only relief in the Scottish system, and the others are routinely left unclaimed:
- Empty property relief, now set locally by each council rather than nationally, so the treatment genuinely differs between local authorities.
- Charitable rates relief of 80% mandatory, with discretionary relief on top of that at the council's option.
- Fresh Start relief for a property brought back into use after a period standing empty.
- Rural relief, for the last shop, post office, pub or petrol station in a qualifying rural settlement.
- Business Growth Accelerator, which holds off the rates increase arising from an improvement or expansion.
Relief is not automatic. Nearly all of it has to be applied for through the council that issues the bill, and a business that moves premises has to apply again at the new address. We check this as part of the year-end for clients with premises.
Poundage and thresholds: mygov.scot, how your rates are calculated, and the Small Business Bonus Scheme relief guidance. Rateable values are set by the Scottish Assessors Association. Checked 24 August 2026.
See our Scotland overview for the rest of what changes, or the LBTT guide if you are buying the premises rather than renting them.
