Do business rates differ between England, Scotland and Wales?

Full answer

Business rates, formally non-domestic rates, are a devolved tax, meaning England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each set their own poundage (the multiplier applied to a property's rateable value) and their own relief schemes, resulting in real differences for otherwise identical businesses. In England, Small Business Rate Relief gives 100% relief for properties with a rateable value up to a set threshold, tapering to zero at a higher threshold, alongside sector-specific reliefs such as retail, hospitality and leisure relief reviewed at each Budget. Scotland runs the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which has historically offered 100% relief up to a similar (but not always identical) rateable value threshold, with its own tapering structure, plus separate reliefs for specific sectors that the Scottish Government sets independently of Westminster. Wales operates its own Non-Domestic Rates system with its own Small Business Rates Relief scheme and thresholds, which the Welsh Government has at times made more generous than England's for certain property value bands. Northern Ireland has an entirely separate rating system, covering both domestic (see the separate answer on domestic rates) and non-domestic rates, administered by Land & Property Services. Because the rateable value itself is also assessed by a different valuation body in each nation, and revaluations happen on different schedules, a business with premises in more than one UK nation should check each nation's current rates, reliefs and valuation separately rather than assuming a single UK-wide rule.