Non-domestic rates - money off your bill

Subsidy control rules under Subsidy Control Act 2022

The following reliefs will be subject to the subsidy rules under the above regulations -

• Rural relief
• Transitional relief for properties in parks
• Transitional relief for small businesses
• Day nursery relief
• District heating relief
• Renewable energy relief
• Hospitality relief
• Retail, hospitality and leisure relief
• Licensed premises and music venues relief

These reliefs may be offered as a Minimum Financial Assistance (MFA) subsidy under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.  MFA is capped at a maximum of £315,000 over a three-period – cumulated over the current and previous two financial years.  

To ensure that we comply with the subsidy regime, we may be required to cap relief at the MFA maximum limit. This may depend on:

• the level of other public sector assistance received by your entity
• whether or not you have an interest in any business with other properties, is in receipt, or eligible, for one of the existing rate relief schemes

You must consider whether you have already received support from any public sector body in the current financial year and the two financial years immediately preceding this.  We will determine this from the completed Subsidy Information Declaration Form that is part of your application.

A written record must be kept for at least three years beginning with the date on which the MFA was given. This will enable you to respond to future requests from public authorities on how much MFA you have received and whether you have reached the cumulative threshold.

Further information on this is available on the Scottish Government website.

Hospitality Relief 2025/26

To qualify for 40% hospitality relief for 2025/26 the property must be used wholly or mainly for a purpose set out in The Non-Domestic Rates (Hospitality Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, listed below, and the rateable value must be £51,000 or less. If your business does not meet both these criteria, you will not qualify for this relief and should not complete the application.

• bed and breakfast accommodation
• camping site
• caravan
• caravan site
• chalet, holiday hut and bothy
• guest house, hotel and hostel
• public house
• restaurant (including café, bistro, coffee shop, snack bar)
• self-catering holiday accommodation
• small music venue (capacity up to 1,500 persons)
• timeshare accommodation

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief 2026/27

To qualify for 15% retail, hospitality and leisure relief for 2026/27 the property must be used wholly or mainly for a purpose set out in The Non-Domestic Rates (Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief) (Scotland) Regulations 2026, listed below, and the rateable value must be £100,000 or less. If your business does not meet both these criteria, you will not qualify for this relief and should not complete the application.

• bed and breakfast accommodation
• camping site
• caravan
• caravan site
• chalet, holiday hut and bothy
• guest house, hotel and hostel
• public house
• restaurant (including café, bistro, coffee shop, snack bar)
• self-catering holiday accommodation
• timeshare accommodation
• market
• retail shop
• leisure;
  • art gallery or centre
  • sports club
  • sports centre
  • sports ground
  • clubhouse
  • gymnasium
  • museum
  • cinema
  • theatre
  • music venue
  • ticket office
  • recreational ground
  • recreational centre
  • park
  • bingo hall
  • tourist attraction or tourist facility
  • amusement arcade (excluding those which hold a licence allowing the operation of B2 gaming machines)
  • theme park
  • soft play centre
  • venue for recreational activities such as ten pin bowling, laser tag, paintballing, escape rooms or miniature golf
  • venue for lectures or lessons undertaken for recreational purposes, such as language lessons, music and dance lessons, or pottery and arts lessons
• service providers;
  • hair and beauty services
  • shoe repairs
  • key cutting
  • photo processing
  • laundry services
  • car or tool hire
  • car washing
  • repair of domestic/electrical goods.
  • massage parlour or health spa
  • funeral parlour
  • travel agency
  • meeting, event or activity space
  • facility for youth organisations