Guide

Claim Small Business Bonus Scheme relief

How to apply for Scotland's Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), which provides up to 100% rates relief for eligible small businesses with properties valued up to £35,000.

Scotland

The Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) is Scotland's main rates relief for small businesses. It provides up to 100% relief from non-domestic rates, meaning many small businesses in Scotland pay no business rates at all. The scheme was significantly reformed from 1 April 2023, introducing tapered relief bands and new exclusions.

When this applies

You may be eligible for SBBS if you occupy one or more business properties in Scotland and:

  • The combined rateable value (RV) of all your business properties in Scotland is £35,000 or less
  • Each individual property has a rateable value of £20,000 or less
  • Your properties are actively occupied and used for business purposes

Properties outside Scotland are not counted towards your combined rateable value.

How SBBS differs from England's Small Business Rate Relief

Scotland's scheme is more generous in several ways:

  • Higher thresholds: Scotland's combined RV ceiling is £35,000 compared with England's £15,000 individual property limit
  • Multiple properties: In England, you can generally only claim full relief on a single property. In Scotland, SBBS applies across multiple properties based on combined RV
  • 25% band: Scotland provides 25% relief on properties between £12,001 and £15,000 RV (with tapering to £20,000), where England tapers relief more sharply from £12,001 to £15,000

Relief rates in detail

Single property

If you are liable for rates on only one property in Scotland:

  • RV up to £12,000: 100% relief (you pay nothing)
  • RV £12,001 to £15,000: Relief tapers from 100% down to 25%
  • RV £15,001 to £20,000: Relief tapers from 25% down to 0%
  • RV over £20,000: Not eligible

Multiple properties

If you are liable for rates on more than one property in Scotland, relief depends on both the combined RV of all your properties and each individual property's RV:

  • Combined RV up to £35,000 and individual property RV up to £12,000: 100% relief on that property
  • Combined RV up to £35,000 and individual property RV £12,001 to £15,000: 25% relief
  • Combined RV up to £35,000 and individual property RV £15,001 to £20,000: Relief tapers from 25% down to 0%
  • Combined RV over £35,000: No SBBS relief on any property

You must declare all properties you occupy or are entitled to occupy in Scotland on your application, including any that are unoccupied.

  1. Check the rateable value of each property you occupy in Scotland on the Scottish Assessors Association website (saa.gov.uk) using the valuation roll search

  2. Add up the rateable values of all your Scottish business properties to confirm your combined RV is £35,000 or less and each individual property RV is £20,000 or less

  3. Confirm your property is not in an excluded category (car parks, advertising sites, betting shops, and payday lending premises are all excluded from SBBS)

  4. Download the SBBS application form from your local council's website — each council has its own form and process

  5. Complete the application, declaring all properties you are liable for in Scotland, including unoccupied properties

  6. If your council requires a Subsidy Control declaration (Minimal Financial Assistance under the Subsidy Control Act 2022), confirm your total public subsidies are within the £315,000 rolling three-year limit

  7. Submit the form to your local council's business rates team — some councils accept online applications

  8. Relief is normally applied from the start of the financial year (1 April), but you can apply for backdated relief in some circumstances

Excluded properties

The following property types are not eligible for SBBS, regardless of their rateable value:

  • Car parks and individual parking spaces (excluded from 1 April 2023)
  • Advertising sites and hoardings (excluded from 1 April 2023)
  • Betting shops (excluded from 1 April 2023)
  • Payday lending premises (excluded from 1 April 2014)
  • Unoccupied properties (excluded from 1 April 2020 — the property must be in active use)

If your property was excluded from SBBS on 1 April 2023 due to these changes, you may qualify for Small Business Transitional Relief instead.

You must notify your council of changes

Penalty:
<p>If you receive SBBS relief and your circumstances change, you <strong>must tell your local council</strong> promptly. Changes that affect your eligibility include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Taking on an additional property in Scotland</li>
<li>Vacating a property or ceasing to trade</li>
<li>A change in the rateable value of any of your properties (for example, after a revaluation or alteration)</li>
<li>Changing the use of a property to an excluded category</li>
</ul>
<p>Failure to notify changes may result in <strong>overpaid relief being recovered by the council</strong>, potentially with interest. Deliberately providing false information to obtain relief could constitute fraud.</p>

Transitional relief and interactions with other schemes

Small Business Transitional Relief

If you lost SBBS eligibility or received reduced relief because of the April 2023 reforms or the 2023 revaluation, you may qualify for Small Business Transitional Relief. This caps the maximum increase in your rates bill compared to what you paid on 31 March 2023:

  • 2023/24: Increase capped at £600
  • 2024/25: Increase capped at £1,200
  • 2025/26: Increase capped at £1,800

You must apply separately for transitional relief through your local council. It is not applied automatically.

Interactions with other reliefs

SBBS interacts with other Scottish rates reliefs:

  • Fresh Start Relief: Provides 100% relief for 12 months when you move into a property that has been empty for 6 months or more. You cannot normally claim both SBBS and Fresh Start on the same property at the same time, but you may move to SBBS once Fresh Start expires
  • Rural Rates Relief: Available for qualifying properties in settlements with populations under 3,000. If you are eligible for both Rural Relief and SBBS, you will usually receive whichever gives the greater benefit
  • Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Relief: The 40% RHL discount (2026/27) can apply alongside SBBS if you have remaining liability after SBBS
  • Day Nursery Relief: Properties used wholly or mainly as a day nursery receive 100% relief separately from SBBS
  • Business Growth Accelerator: If your property value increases due to improvements, the Accelerator delays the impact on your rates bill for 12 months — this does not affect SBBS eligibility

Subsidy control

SBBS relief counts as Minimal Financial Assistance (MFA) under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. The total amount of MFA a single enterprise can receive from all public bodies is capped at £315,000 over a rolling three-year period. For most small businesses, SBBS relief will be well within this limit, but you should check if you receive other forms of public financial assistance.

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