Rates

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What are Rates?
How much are my Rates?
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In Northern Ireland, rates are a property tax based on the capital, or market value of homes.

Rates of non-domestic properties, such as businesses and offices, are based on the rental value of your property.

Revaluation of non-domestic rates
Land & Property Services (LPS) is revaluing all non-domestic properties in Northern Ireland for rates. A new Valuation List will come in to effect on 1 April 2020 based on rental values as at 1 April 2018. More information is available at www.finance-ni.gov.uk/reval-2020-ni

Rates for 2019-2020

On Tuesday 12 February 2019 the council agreed a District Rate increase of 1.96 percent for 2019-20.

Councillors agreed a domestic rate of 0.4312p and a non-domestic rate of 26.0884p. The effect on the average householder across the borough will be an increase of around £9 for the financial year.

Each year the council estimates the income and expenditure for the next financial year. Based on these estimates, a district rate is set for that financial year. This is the amount of money the council will need from ratepayers to deliver planned services.

The district rate is fixed annually by each council and this rate will vary from council to council.

Calculate your rates bill

To calculate your rates bill, use the rates calculator on the Land and Property Services website.

Your bill is calculated using three pieces of information:

capital value of your home
district rate -set by councils
regional rate – set by central government.

Domestic rate bill for householders

The domestic rate bill is calculated as follows:

(Capital Value of your property) X (Domestic District Rate + Domestic Regional Rate) = Amount to be paid

Business rate bill

The business rate bill is calculated as follows:

(Net Annual Valuation of business premises) X (Non-Domestic District Rate + Non-Domestic Regional Rate) = Amount to be paid

Capital value

The capital value of your home is based on the amount the property could reasonably have sold for on 1 January 2005.

If you would like more information about the capital value of your property please visit www.finance-ni.gov.uk

What does my rates pay for?

District rate: Income from the district rate is used to meet the costs of providing services like:

leisure centres
bin collections and waste disposal
street cleansing
community services
parks
events, culture and tourism
economic initiatives
building control

Regional rate: The Department of Finance and Personnel sets the regional rate as a contribution towards services provided by government departments. Regional rates are the same throughout Northern Ireland.

Income from the regional rate is used to meet the costs of providing services like:

education
health
personal social services
housing
roads
sewerage

I have a query about my rates, who do I contact?

Land and Property Services Rate Collection

Telephone: 0300 200 7801