The Non Domestic Rates Charge

 

What is the Non Domestic Rates Charge?

Non Domestic Rates are a property based tax levied on all non-domestic sbujects to help pay for local council services.

The money collected from Non-Domestic Rates is pooled nationally and redistributed among Scottish local authoties according to factors including population and need. The amount of rates you pay is calculated by multiplying the rates poundage by the rateable value.

 

Who pays business rates?

Any person, company or organisation with an interest in a non-domestic property can be liable for business rates.

The occupier of the property or the person who has the right to occupy the property should it be vacant will be responsible for the payment of Non-Domestic Rates. This could be the owner, tenant, sub-tenant or occupier if there is no formal lease in place.

In some cases the owner of the property will be responsbile for payment of Non-Domestic Rates if it cannot be established who is/was occupying the property. It is therefore important that we are notified of any changes in occupation as soon as they occur. 

 

Rateable Value (RV)

The Scottish Assessor, who is independent of both local and central government, determines the rateable value of every business property in Scotland and sets this out in a valuation notice.

All Non-domestic properties in Scotland were revalued on 1 April 2023. 

The key purpose of revaluation is to update Rateable Values of Non-Domestic properties to reflect more up to date rental levels. 

All properties starting from 2023 will be given new rateable values every 3 years (previously revaluation was every 5 years).

 

Rates Poundage

You pay rates based on a proportion of your Rateable Value. This percentage is set annually by the Scottish Government and is called the poundage.

The Scottish Government have confirmed that the Rate Poundage for 2025/26 will be:

  • Basic Property Rate (poundage) – 49.8 pence, paid by businesses with a rateable value of no more than £51,000

This is unchanged from financial year 2024/25. 

In addition to this, a supplement applies where the rateable value exceeds £51,000: 

  • Intermediate Property Rate is set at 5.6 pence above the Poundage Rate (55.4 pence) for properties with a Rateable Value between £51,001 and £99,999k
  • Higher Property Rate is set at 7.0 pence above the Poundage Rate (56.8 pence) for properties with a Rateable Value of more than £100k

 

How we calculate your bill

The amount of Non-Domestic rates due is determined by multiplying the Rateable Value for the property contained within the Valuation Roll by the Rate Poundage in respect of that financial year. 

For example, if your rateable value is £52,000 multiply this by £0.554 to obtain an amount payable of £28,808 for the year.

The Scottish Government have a business rates calculator which you can use to estimate your Non Domestic Rates charge. This can be found in the 'Related Links' section of this webpage.

 

Changes in circumstances

You must tell us about any changes to your business circumstances, it may affect amount of non-domestic rates you are due to pay.

Let us know if you: 

  • move address
  • believe that you are entitled to a discount, exemption or relief
  • believe that you are no longer entitled to a discount, exemption or relief
  • the Scottish Assessor changes the rateable value of your property
  • your property changes from empty to occupied (or vice versa)

If necessary, we will re-calculate our charges and send you a new bill.

You can contact us by: 

  • email: rates@inverclyde.gov.uk
  • telephone: 01475 712266
  • post: Finance Services, Inverclyde Council, PO Box 9467, Greenock, PA15 1JD

Changes must be reported within 21 days of the date of change. 

 

Non-Domestic Rates - Publication of Relief Recipients 

A full list of recipients of rates relief is publish every quarter, with personal information removed prior to publication. Please see the 'Documents' section of this webpage.