Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Subject to local property tax: Describes property or land that is legally liable to be assessed and taxed by a local authority, such as a municipality or council.
   • Capable of being rated or assessed: Describes something that can be evaluated, estimated, or assigned a value or rank.

Usage

• The primary modern use of rateable relates to taxation and property law. It is often used in official or financial contexts.
• It can describe the property itself (e.g., ) or the assessed value of that property (e.g., ).

Examples

• Adjective:
  • All commercial buildings in the city are rateable and contribute to local services.
  • The council sent a notice informing us of the new rateable value of our premises.
  • The inspector determined which structures on the land were rateable.

Advanced Usage

• "Rateable occupation": A legal term referring to the use or possession of a property that makes it liable for local taxes.
  • The empty warehouse was not in rateable occupation and therefore not taxed.

Variants and Related Words

• Rate (verb/noun): To assess the value of; a local tax or the assessed value itself.
  • The property was rated at £200,000.
• Rating (noun): The process of assessing, or the assessed value; a classification or ranking.
  • The council issued a new rating list.
• Rateability (noun): The quality of being liable to local taxation.
  • The rateability of the annex was under dispute.

Synonyms

• Taxable: Liable to be taxed.
• Assessable: Capable of being officially evaluated, especially for taxation.
• Chargeable: Subject to a fee or charge.

Antonyms

• Exempt: Free from an obligation or liability, such as tax.
• Non-rateable: Not subject to local property tax.

Notes

• The spelling ratable is also correct and commonly used, especially in American English. Both "rateable" and "ratable" are acceptable variants.
• The historical or archaic meaning of "proportional" (e.g., a ) is now rare in modern usage, where the term is almost exclusively tied to property taxation.

Adjective

1. liable to payment of locally assessed property taxes
   • the ratable value of property