Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance has made the Rates (Exemption for Automatic Telling Machines in Rural Areas) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 (S.R. 2026 No. 22), dated 19 February 2026. The instrument extends the statutory rates exemption for rural ATMs by specifying 1 April 2027 as the later date for a ‘relevant year’ in Article 42(1G) of the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977. It will take effect the day after it is affirmed by resolution of the Assembly.
Article 42(1F)–(1G) of the 1977 Order provides that any automatic telling machine situated in a rural area is to be distinguished in the Net Annual Value (NAV) list as wholly exempt from rates for a relevant year ending before a date set by the Department of Finance. By setting that date at 1 April 2027, S.R. 2026 No. 22 maintains the exemption through the 2026–27 rating year.
The 2026 Order revokes the Rates (Exemption for Automatic Telling Machines in Rural Areas) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 (S.R. 2025 No. 28), which had fixed 1 April 2026 as the cut‑off. In practice, this is a one‑year extension of an existing relief, preserving the current approach for a further billing cycle.
Relief is delivered in rating practice through separate entries in the NAV list for cash machines that constitute their own hereditament. Where an ATM is separately assessed and located within a designated rural settlement, that entry is coded as wholly exempt, producing a nil non‑domestic rates liability for the 2026–27 year.
Where an ATM is not separately assessed and forms part of a host shop’s general valuation, the exemption does not disapply the shop’s rates. Eligibility turns on the separate ATM entry and on the location’s designation as rural for the purposes of the scheme. Operators should confirm the host site’s designation before assuming relief applies.
Land & Property Services (LPS) maintains the NAV list used to calculate non‑domestic rates. Once the Order commences, ratepayers should check that eligible ATM entries are recorded as exempt for 2026–27 and that bills reflect a zero charge for those entries. Any discrepancies should be raised with LPS for correction.
The Department of Finance has previously highlighted the rural ATM exemption alongside other reliefs as part of support for access to cash, particularly in areas affected by bank branch closures. That policy direction was restated on 10 March 2025 and is now carried forward for 2026–27 by S.R. 2026 No. 22.
Because commencement depends on affirmative resolution, timing may intersect with billing. If 2026–27 demands issue before the Assembly affirms the Order, adjustments can be made once the legal basis is in force. Ratepayers should retain correspondence confirming any subsequent adjustments applied by LPS.
No changes are made to the underlying definitions or designation criteria. The Order’s effect is limited to moving the cut‑off to 1 April 2027 and revoking the 2025 instrument. If no further order is made, separate ATM entries in rural areas would return to rating from 1 April 2027.
The instrument was sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance on 19 February 2026 by a senior officer, Andrew McAvoy. It is laid before the Assembly under the affirmative resolution procedure specified for Article 42(1G).