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Small Business Rate Relief

The Small Business Rate Relief Scheme is a Northern Ireland Government initiative, whose aim is to support the growth and sustainability of small businesses in Nortern Ireland, by providing some small business owners with rate relief. Qualifying businesses will receive the relief on their April 2010 bill and each subsequent annual bill during the life of the scheme.

It is intended that the scheme will have a life of 5 years and it will be reviewed before then to establish its effectiveness and value for money.

How to qualify

Eligibility is based on the net annual value (NAV) of each business property.

There are two levels of Small Business Rate Relief:

  • business properties with an NAV of £2,000 or less will receive a reduction of 50% relief
  • business properties with an NAV of more than £2,000 but not more than £5,000 will receive 25% relief

The Small Business Rate Relief will provide an average relief of between £300 and £430 per year.

Do I need to apply?

There is no application procedure for the Small Business Rate Relief. Instead, relief will be applied automatically by Land & Property Services to all businesses that qualify. This will ensure that all who are eligible will receive the benefit of the rate relief immediately.

For full details of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, please click on the link below:

There may be occasions, due to data quality issues, when we may not have the relevant information to apply the relief automatically, or we may have awarded it when it is not due. If you think that you should have been awarded the relief, or you believe you have been awarded it in error, please contact Land & Property Services. Contact details are as follows:

  • phone: 101
  • minicom: 1800 1101
  • if you cannot access the 101 number or are calling from outside Northern Ireland you can call on 028 9151 3101