Paying your rates: instalments and the early payment discount

When bills arrive

LPS issues domestic rate bills from the beginning of April. Each bill covers the rating year from 1 April to 31 March, and for 2026/27 bills were delivered through April 2026. You can see your bill from 1 April with a Rates Online account.

If your household gets full Housing Benefit and Rate Relief, you don't get a rates bill.

Paying in instalments

You must pay the full amount within the rating year. You can pay it all at once or spread it over ten months. The Department of Finance says Direct Debit is the best way to pay monthly, and it carries on each year without you doing anything.

If you set up a monthly plan later in the year, the bill is spread over the months left in the rating year, so each payment is bigger. The ten-instalment figure on this site assumes you start in April.

The early payment discount

If you pay the whole bill in a single payment on or before the discount date, you get 4% off. For 2026/27 the date was 8 May 2026. The discount comes from Article 30 of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977, which gives 4% off the amount payable when the net amount due is paid in one sum before the date LPS sets.

A £150,000 home in Belfast has a 2026/27 bill of £1,507.65. 4% of that is £60.31, so paying in full by the date costs £1,447.34.

If your card has a limit on one payment, you can pay in several smaller amounts online and still get the discount. Owners of empty homes get the discount too.

The 2026/27 discount date of 8 May 2026 has passed. It was announced on 30 March 2026, when bills went out, so look for the next date when next year's bills are sent. The Department of Finance has consulted on removing the discount; it was still offered for 2026/27.

Ways to pay

You'll need the account ID and ratepayer ID from your bill.

• Direct Debit, set up online or by phoning LPS on 0300 200 7801.
• Online by card. Debit cards and, for domestic rates only, Visa and Mastercard credit cards. There is no charge, and the limit is £10,000 per transaction.
• By phone on 0300 200 7801, with a debit card only.
• Post Office or PayPoint, using the barcode on your bill or a QuickPay card. Allow five working days.
• Bank transfer or standing order. Standing orders must be renewed every year. Take the bank details from nidirect or your bill.
• Cheque, payable to Land & Property Services, posted or left in the deposit box at an LPS office.

Full details, including bank details, are on How you can pay your rate bill.

If you miss an instalment

1. LPS sends a reminder. Pay within seven days and your instalment plan stays in place.
2. If you don't, you get a final notice, 40 days after the original bill was issued.
3. With a final notice you lose the automatic right to pay by instalments, and you have ten days to pay everything left on the bill.

Unpaid rates lead to legal action, extra costs and possibly enforcement through the Enforcement of Judgments Office. If you're struggling, contact LPS early: it may agree a different payment plan. Have a list of your household's income and benefits ready.