Cutting your rates bill

Commercial rates incentives: money off for new businesses in vacant premises, and rebates for small ratepayers

A number of councils hand back most of a new business's first-year rates if it opens in a premises that has been empty. Separately, some councils take a few per cent off the bill of a small ratepayer who pays in full and on time. Each council sets its own scheme, and not every council has one.

Open

StatusVaries by council. Most 2026 schemes run from January to 31 December 2026.

Yes

Can a shop, cafe or trade get it?Shops, cafes, salons, offices and trades with a rated premises can use these. Takeaways, betting shops and vape shops are often barred from the vacant premises schemes.

Checked against the official sources on 3 October 2026.

Free PDFGet this guide as a free report, straight to your email.The rules, the steps and a checklist to tick off, in plain English.

How rates incentives work

Commercial rates are a yearly charge on business premises. The bill is the property's valuation multiplied by a rate the council sets at its budget meeting. Donegal's 2026 example: a valuation of €25,000 at a rate of 0.232 gives a bill of €5,800.

Councils that want to help a business with its rates do it in one of two ways.

  • A grant. You pay the rates in full, then the council pays a share back. Limerick and Longford work this way.
  • A waiver. The council credits part of the bill on your account and you pay the balance. A 2019 law, the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act, allows each council one waiver scheme a year. Kildare, Kerry, Louth, Westmeath and Cork County use it.

Either way the help shrinks each year until you are paying the full bill. You can work out what a sliding scheme is worth on your own bill before you sign a lease.

Calculator

What would the council take off your rates?

Pick the council and put in the yearly rates bill for the premises.

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Vacant premises schemes for 2026

We opened each council's own page on 3 October 2026. This is not every council. If yours is missing, we did not find a 2026 scheme we could check.

CouncilSchemeWhat you get backPremises must be empty for
Limerick City and County CouncilVacant Business Premises Rates Incentive Scheme 2026100%, 75%, 50% and 25% over four years. Caps of €12,000, €9,000, €6,000 and €3,0006 months. City centre and named county towns
Kildare County CouncilCommercial Rates Incentive Waiver Scheme 202675%, 50% and 25% over three years. Caps of €7,500, €5,000 and €2,5002 years, or 5 years if never occupied. Town and village centres
Kerry County CouncilCommercial Rates Waiver Scheme 2026100%, 50% and 20% over three years2 years. Rates bill of €20,000 or less. Towns and villages
Louth County CouncilRates Waiver Scheme 2026100%, 50% and 25% over three years12 months. Town centres. Lease of at least four years
Westmeath County CouncilCommercial Rates Waiver Scheme 202675%, 50% and 25% over three years6 months. Lease of at least 12 months
Cork County CouncilRate Waiver Scheme 2026, Part B75%, 50% and 25% over three years2 years. Kanturk, Mallow and Youghal only
Longford County CouncilBusiness Incentive Scheme 202670%, 50% and 25% of rates paid, over three years6 months, and on the council's register of vacant premises. Three-year lease
Wicklow County CouncilNew Business Rates Incentive Scheme50% in year one and 25% in year two12 months. Rates bill of €20,000 or less
Waterford City and County CouncilEconomic Incentive Scheme 2026Rates relief for up to three years, to €5,000 a year, plus a start-up grant of €6,000 over three years1 month. City, town and village centres

Other councils run long-standing schemes that are not dated 2026 on their websites, so we have left them out of the table. Our county-by-county pages say what we found for each council.

Rebates and early payment schemes for 2026

These are for businesses already trading. Some are applied automatically. Others need a form.

CouncilWhat it paysWho gets itPay your rates by
Limerick City and County Council17.5% of the bill, up to €1,500Total rates bill of €32,000 or less. Apply online by 31 December 202630 June 2026, or 31 December on direct debit or a payment plan
Wicklow County Council10% of the bill, up to €650Rates bill of €25,000 or less30 June 2026, or 31 October by standing order
Donegal County CouncilUp to 7.5% of the bill, to a maximum of €375Accounts with no arrears31 October 2026
Laois County Council7% offRates of €10,000 or less31 August 2026, or 31 December by standing order
Mayo County Council5%Valuation under €42,50031 July 2026, or 31 October on a payment plan
Cork City Council4% on bills up to €4,000, 2% on bills of €4,001 to €10,000Accounts with no arrears30 November 2026
Cork County Council3.5% of the bill, counted on no more than €7,000, so €245 at mostEvery ratepayer. No application. Credited against 2027 rates31 October 2026
Meath County CouncilThe whole increase between your 2025 and 2026 bills2026 bill of €22,100 or less. No application31 July 2026, or 9 December by direct debit or standing order

Who is left out

  • Certain trades. Kerry bars fast food and takeaways, casinos, arcades and betting offices, vape shops, phone repair shops, discount stores and off-licences. Kildare's list adds charity shops, banks, moneylenders, nightclubs, pop-up shops and multiples or franchises with more than three units.
  • Businesses that are only moving. Kildare gives a relocating business the waiver only on the extra rates. Kerry refuses anyone vacating another premises in the county.
  • Bigger premises. Kerry and Wicklow stop at a rates bill of €20,000.
  • The wrong location. Most schemes cover town and village centres, and Cork County's covers three towns.
  • Anyone in arrears. Most of the schemes we read want rates and other council charges up to date.

Councils also look at whether a new business would simply take trade from one already there. Longford says an application may be refused for that reason, and Kerry weighs the number of similar businesses nearby.

How to apply for a vacant premises scheme

  1. Check the scheme before you sign the lease. The length of the lease can decide it: Kerry wants at least 24 months, Longford three years, Louth four.
  2. Get proof of how long the unit has been empty. Louth accepts a declaration letter from the landlord.
  3. Talk to the council first. Kerry makes its pre-application advice a condition.
  4. Apply as soon as you move in. Kerry says to send the form immediately after occupation and will not take applications after the fact.
  5. Send your tax clearance certificate with the form.
  6. Pay the rates you owe on time each year. The grant or waiver is applied after that.

Kildare lets you pick your first year. A business opening on 1 July with a €4,000 yearly bill gets €4,500 over three years if the waiver starts at once, and €6,000 if it asks for the waiver to start the following year.

What goes wrong

  • Paying late. In Limerick the grant is only released once the year's rates are cleared in full. Meath only applies its credit if the rates are paid by its deadlines.
  • Assuming it is automatic. Limerick's 17.5% support has to be applied for online by 31 December 2026.
  • Counting on it lasting. Schemes are renewed year by year. Limerick and Longford say a business already approved keeps its incentive even if the scheme is later changed or ended.
  • Forgetting the landlord's side. An empty unit is not always rate-free for its owner. Councils can set their own relief for vacant property. Donegal's 2026 scheme gives 100% relief where a property is really vacant and advertised to let.

We found no national grant tied to rates open at the moment. The two that ran in 2024 are closed: the 2024 payment based on your 2023 rates bill and the €4,000 payment for retail and hospitality that followed it.

If you are taking on a tired unit, your council may also run a scheme that pays half the cost of painting or new signage.

Budget 2027

These are 2026 schemes. Councils set their 2027 rates and incentives at their own budget meetings late in the year, so Budget 2027 on 6 October 2026 will not settle them.

Common questions

Can a new business get its commercial rates waived?

In some council areas, yes, if it opens in a premises that has been vacant for the period the council sets. In the 2026 schemes we checked, the first year was worth 50% to 100% of the rates, and the help fell to nothing after two to four years. The council decides each application.

How long does a premises have to be vacant?

It depends on the council. Among the 2026 schemes we checked it was one month in Waterford, six months in Limerick, Longford and Westmeath, twelve months in Louth and Wicklow, and two years in Kerry, Kildare and Cork County.

Can I get a rates incentive if I move my business to a bigger premises?

Not in full. Kildare applies its waiver only to the increase in the rates charge when a business relocates, and Kerry will not accept an applicant who is vacating another premises in the county. These schemes are meant for new or expanding businesses.

Do I have to apply for a small business rates rebate?

Sometimes. Cork County and Meath apply theirs automatically as a credit on your account once you have paid on time. Limerick asks you to apply online, and its closing date for 2026 is 31 December 2026.

Do I pay rates on a vacant shop that I own?

It depends on the council. The 2019 rates law lets each council set its own scheme of relief for vacant properties at its budget meeting. Donegal's scheme for 2026 gives 100% relief where the property is vacant and advertised to let. Ask your own council's rates office.

Rates schemes, county by county

Where this comes from

Checked on 3 October 2026. We are an independent guide, not a government service. Rules change, so confirm the detail on the official page before you apply.

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