Rates bills on the way to homes and businesses in Northern Ireland after Stormont executive's 4% increase

The bill will set out the amount due for 2024/25, details of any rate relief which has been applied to your account and also any arrears from previous years that have not been paid.

How much you pay is based on the Rateable Capital Value, based on property values on January 1 2005.

In February, the executive agreed to increase the regional part of rates bills by 4% after a proposal by the Sinn Fein Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald was accepted by the other parties.

It means that the part of the bill set by Stormont is up roughly in line with inflation.

The 4% increase is significantly less than the increase passed by most councils in Northern Ireland, who have already set their part of the property tax.

Lisburn and Castlereagh was the only council with a rate increase below 4% – with Mid and East Antrim’s tariff going up almost 10% for homes and 12% for businesses.

Rates account for 5% of Stormont’s budget and 75% of council spending.

A wide range of rate reliefs and entitlements are available, including support for those in receipt of Universal Credit through the Rate Rebate Scheme and a discount for pensioners who live on their own.

Land & Property Services (LPS) says it encourages anyone having difficulty paying rates to contact them for advice on the range of support available.

Bills can be paid by Direct Debit, online at the NI Direct website or at any Post Office or PayPoint.

Domestic ratepayers can receive 4% discount if they pay their 2024/25 rates in full or before May 10.

Businesses may also be able to access a range of rate support schemes – details of which can be found on the NI Business Info website.

There are approximately 840,000 rateable domestic properties and around 75,000 non-domestic properties in Northern Ireland.

The average household rate bill in NI is £1,180.