Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 13 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the proposal in the draft Budget 2026-27 that retail, hospitality and leisure firms liable for the basic and intermediate property rate will be eligible for 15% non-domestic rates relief, how much it would cost to extend this to premises in this sector that are liable for the higher property rate.
Internal Scottish Government estimates are that extending the 15% relief to non-domestic rates (NDR) for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate, capped at £110,000 per business per year, announced in the draft Budget 2026-27, to include premises in these sectors liable for the Higher Property Rate, would cost an additional £36m in 2026-27, rising to £37m in 2027-28 and £38m in 2028-29.
The identification of properties in the RHL sectors are based on criteria used to identify eligible properties for the purpose of forecasting relief costs. Property class is used by the Scottish Assessors to describe the type of a property and may not accurately reflect its use in all cases. For example, a property classified as a ‘shop’ may in fact be used to offer financial services.