Non-domestic rates relief statistics 2024

About this publication

This publication shows various breakdowns of the reliefs in place on 1 June 2024, including estimates of their annual value. It is based on the annual Billing System Snapshot.

Interpretation and reporting conventions

This publication uses the term ‘relief’ for reductions applied to non-domestic rates bills. This includes full (100%) or partial reliefs, as well as exemptions, from non-domestic rates.

The term ‘properties’ is used to refer to separate entries on the valuation roll for which non-domestic rates are charged. While a majority of these will be buildings in the traditional sense, such as shops or offices, this also includes other entries such as shooting rights, car parks and utilities.

Properties may receive multiple reliefs, and some reliefs (discretionary top-ups to mandatory Charity and mandatory Sports relief) are always awarded with another relief. This means that the number of reliefs awarded will be greater than the number of properties receiving relief.

Some properties are zero-rated, meaning that their rateable value is reduced to £0, usually while they are under reconstruction. These properties are excluded from all tables and figures in this publication, except for Table 13.

For data protection purposes, figures relating to groups of fewer than five properties are suppressed, and are shown as "[low]". Figures showing numbers of properties or reliefs are rounded to the nearest ten.

The Billing System Snapshot

The Billing System Snapshot is the main data source used in this publication. It is an annual data return provided by councils to the Scottish Government, and includes a list of all reliefs in place as at the snapshot date of 1 June 2024. The continued co-operation of councils in providing the Billing System Snapshot is gratefully acknowledged.

The data is combined with the valuation roll, a list of all non-domestic properties in Scotland, which is maintained by the Scottish Assessors. This provides additional information about each property, such as rateable values and property types.

In addition to the 2024 snapshot, some tables accompanying this publication also include figures from previous snapshots. The snapshot dates for these were: 1 June 2018, 31 May 2019, 1 July 2020, 1 June 2021, and 1 July 2022.

A Billing System Snapshot was collected in 2023, as at 1 July 2023, and summary statistics were published. Due to significant challenges with the data, the 2023 publication only presented summary statistics on the number of properties receiving relief. The 2024 publication, and the associated tables, does not present any statistics derived from the 2023 snapshot.  

As figures are based on snapshot data, any changes to reliefs made after the snapshot, such as backdated awards or cancellations, will not be reflected in the data. Similarly, reliefs which were in place for a part of the year, but were cancelled before the snapshot date, will not be reflected.

Councils may occasionally review relief awards, which may include cancellations of all awards of a particular type of relief and require ratepayers to re-apply. This may reduce the number and value of reliefs reported in this publication, even if the reliefs are later reinstated and backdated.

Most figures in this publication are derived directly from the snapshots as provided by councils. However, several councils experienced issues in reporting the General Revaluation Transitional Relief. For the purposes of this publication, this relief has been recalculated for all councils, using valuation data. The General Revaluation Transitional Relief is automatically awarded to all eligible properties, and is calculated based on the gross liability before and after the 2023 revaluation.

Values of reliefs

The values of reliefs presented in this publication are estimates based on properties’ rateable values and reliefs in place on 1 June 2024, and do not reflect any changes made after the snapshot date – they assume that the rateable values and reliefs in place on 1 June 2024 are active throughout the 2024-2025 financial year.

The values of reliefs reflect the total estimated values of reliefs, funded both by the Scottish Government and councils. Other publications of non-domestic rates statistics generally report only the Scottish Government’s share in the costs of providing reliefs.

Tables accompanying this publication

This publication is accompanied by detailed tables, which are available on the supporting documents page. There are two workbooks accompanying this publication:

• The ‘publication tables’ workbook contains summary tables and several breakdowns of relief awards and values, including some information from previous years’ snapshots.
• The ‘additional tables’ workbook contains more detailed breakdowns and information about relief awards.