Business Rates charges 2026 / 27

2026 is a revaluation year and the majority of rateable values changed as a result of the revaluation.

Your 2026 to 2027 rates bill will be calculated using the 1 April 2026 rateable value multiplied by the appropriate poundage.

The Scottish Government have introduced further changes for Non-Domestic Rates in 2026/27, additional details are provided below.

Revaluation Transitional Relief

A Revaluation Transitional Relief was introduced to cap increases in rates liabilities due to revaluation. The caps in 2026/27 will be

• 15% for small properties
• 30% for medium-sized properties 
• 50% for large properties.

Further detail is set out in the table below. 

Year-on-year Scottish 2026 Revaluation Transitional Relief caps (%)   

Small Business Bonus Scheme relief

• Shootings and deer forests will be excluded from eligibility for Small Business Bonus Scheme relief from 01 April 2026, except where a) shooting rights are exercised solely for the purposes of deer management, including to prevent damage to woodland or to agricultural production, environmental management or vermin control, b) crofts and c) all forms of agricultural and small landholding tenancies, leases for new entrants, and leases agreed for environmental purposes. 
• Premises requiring a short-term let licence to operate will only be eligible for Small Business Bonus Scheme relief if they have a short-term let licence, from 1 April 2026. 

Small Business Transitional Relief

• Small Business Transitional Relief will ensure that those ratepayers losing, on 1 April 2026, eligibility for Small Business Bonus Scheme relief (including shootings and deer forests, but excluding those properties that require a short-term let licence but do not have one), Rural relief, Hospitality relief or Small Business Transitional Relief introduced for the 2023 revaluation cycle, do so in a phased manner. Eligible ratepayers will pay 25% of any increase to their net bill in the first year (2026/27), 50% in the second year (2027/28) and 75% in the third year (2028/29). 

Revaluation Transitional Relief for Self Catering

• Revaluation Transitional Relief for the self-catering sector will cap increases in gross bills at 15% year-on-year up to the next revaluation in 2029. The cumulative cap for increases in gross rates liabilities relative to 2025/26 will therefore be 15% in 2026/27, 32.3% in 2027/28 and 52.1% in 2028/29. 

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief

• 15% relief is available for eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors; 40% relief is available for certain hospitality premises and music venues.
• Both levels of relief are capped at £110,000 per businesses per year, apply to properties with rateable values up to and including £100,000, and will be available for three years from 2026/27.

Business Rates reports

Download Business Rates data (XLSX - 1 MB)

Download Business Rates credit list (XLSX - 500KB)

How Business Rates are set

The National Business Rate is set by the Scottish Government. Find the Business Rates guidance and calculator on Scottish Business portal.

Check your business property rateable value

Moving your business

Let us know when you move your business so that we can calculate your charges.

Commercial lease tenants - Key information on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)

Depending on your lease terms, you may need to submit a tax return and pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) to Revenue Scotland. Leases that come under LBTT also come with additional ongoing responsibilities for the tenant.

You must submit an LBTT return within 30 days of the lease's effective date (i.e. usually the date of entry/when the lease starts). Your agent or solicitor can submit this for you.

If submitting it yourself, contact Revenue Scotland to request a paper form.

Lease reviews - Tenant ongoing responsibilities

 As long as you are the tenant, it is your responsibility to submit a Lease Review Return to Revenue Scotland within 30 days of the following:

• every three years - Even if nothing has changed or no tax is due, you must submit a return every third anniversary (i.e. year 3, year 6, year 9 etc.) of the lease's effective date (i.e. usually the date of entry/when the lease starts)
• the date you assign (transfer) the lease to someone else - Once this is submitted, the new tenant will take over future returns
• the date you terminate (end) the lease - A final return must be submitted when the lease is terminated.

You, as the tenant, can submit it online via the Revenue Scotland portal.

Failure to comply with this responsibility will result in a penalty.

For full details on ongoing lease responsibilities, visit Revenue Scotland's website.

Disclaimer

The personal information collected from you as part of the Council’s statutory duty to collect Non-Domestic Rates will be held and processed for this purpose.  In undertaking this processing the Council is relying on the Condition of Processing in Article 6 (1) (c) of the General Data Protection Regulations as it is being processed as part of the Council’s duty to comply with a legal obligation. This personal data will also be shared with Lothian Valuation Joint Board to assist them in the process of valuing business properties. Your information will be held for 6 months and will then be destroyed.   Further information on how the Council manages your personal information and your rights in relation to this can be found in the Council Privacy Statement.