Non-Domestic Rates Small Business Bonus Scheme

• General Information
• How the Small Business Bonus Scheme Operates
• Apply for the Small Business Bonus Scheme

General Information

From 1 April 2020 the Small Business Bonus Scheme is restricted to occupied properties only. Please note that both occupied and unoccupied properties must be declared on your application form.

On 1 April 2008, the Small Business Bonus Scheme replaced the existing Small Business Rates Relief. 

You can get Non Domestic Rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme if:

• the combined rateable value of all your business premises is £35,000 or less
• and the rateable value of individual premises is £18,000 or less
• and your property is actively occupied (effective from 1 April 2020)

From 1 April 2020 the Small Business Bonus Scheme is restricted to actively occupied properties only. The amount of relief awarded will depend on the combined rateable value of ALL properties in Scotland, which a ratepayer actively occupies or, if vacant, is entitled to occupy. 

The rateable value thresholds and bandings of the Scheme have been increased to reflect the 2017 Revaluation.

The table below displays entitlement to a reduction under the Small Business Bonus Scheme by rateable value ‘bands’, from 1 April 2017. 

*This will allow a business with 2 or more properties, with a cumulative rateable value of under £35,000, to qualify for relief, if actively occupied,  at 25% on individual properties with a rateable value of £18,000 or less.

How the Small Business Bonus Scheme Operates

To illustrate the operation of the Small Business Bonus Scheme, three examples are shown below:

Example One - Single Premises

A ratepayer occupies a single property in Scotland with a rateable value of £10,000. 

There is an entitlement in 2022-23 to an award of 100% relief. Rates payable = Rateable value x (100% - percentage relief) x poundage rate. In this case the rates payable will be £10,000 x (100% - 100%) x 49.8p = £0

Example Two - Multiple Premises

A ratepayer occupies three properties in Scotland each with a rateable value of £10,000. The cumulative rateable value of the premises occupied by this ratepayer is £30,000. 

There is an entitlement in 2022-23 to an award of 25% relief for each property, as the cumulative rateable value is less than the £35,000 threshold and each property has a rateable value less than the £18,000 eligibility threshold for the Scheme. The total amount of rates payable will be £30,000 x (100% - 25%) x 49.8p = £11205.00.

Example Three - Multiple Premises

A ratepayer occupies two properties in Scotland, one with a rateable value of £4,000 and the other a rateable value of £25,000. The cumulative rateable value is £29,000.

The smaller property would be entitled, in 2022-23, to an award of 25% relief, based on the cumulative rateable value of £29,000 being less than the £35,000 threshold and the rateable value being less than the £18,000 eligibility threshold for the Scheme. The rates payable will be £4,000 x (100% - 25%) x 49.8p = £1,494.00

The larger property would not be entitled to Small Business Bonus relief because the rateable value is over the £18,000 eligibility threshold for the Scheme. The rates payable will be £25,000 x (100% - 0%) x 49.8p = £12,450.00

It was the intention of the Scottish Government that the Small Business Bonus Scheme should be financed by a levy on businesses occupying a property with a rateable value exceeding £51,000. The Scottish Government announced that in 2022-23 the levy will be 1.3 pence for intermediate properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £95,000 and 2.6 pence for large properties with a rateable value in excess of £95,000.  For example, a ratepayer occupying a property with a rateable value of £175,000 will contribute £4550 to the funding of the Small Business Rates Relief scheme.

Entitlement to a reduction under the Small Business Bonus Scheme is calculated on receipt of an application form. Once it has been calculated, it will be shown on your Non-Domestic Rates bill.

Apply for the Small Business Bonus Scheme

For further information contact us, or download the Small Business Bonus Scheme Application Form (PDF).