The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage recently issued details of the Commercial Rates Waiver to be applied for the first quarter of 2021. In recognition of the impact that COVID19 is having on businesses a further commercial rates waiver will apply to specified businesses in the first quarter of 2021. This three-month waiver has modified criteria and accordingly is a separate standalone waiver scheme from the scheme that applied in 2020.

The waiver will take the form of a credit in lieu of rates and the value is the equivalent of 25% of the annual rate bill for 2021.

The three-month waiver will apply to all eligible businesses closed by or badly impacted by Level 5 restrictions.

An application to Westmeath County Council is not required. Westmeath County Council will automatically apply a 100% credit in lieu of commercial rates, for a three-month period, to classes and categories of occupied rateable properties where the occupying business is not in an excluded category.

The full list of categories and uses of commercial rate properties that are deemed eligible for the Waiver is available on the Rates Waiver page.

Content Last Updated/Reviewed: 11/02/2021