Small Business Rate Relief

Since April 2017, ratepayers in properties with a rateable value of £50,999 or less will have their bills calculated using a lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier. This is instead of the national non-domestic rating multiplier.

To be eligible you also have to have no entitlements to other mandatory relief or be liable for unoccupied property rates.

You will not pay business rates on a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.

For properties with a rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000, the rate of relief will go down gradually from 100% to 0%.

Generally, this percentage reduction (relief) is only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

(a) One property;

(b) One main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value that is £2,899 or less.

The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the combined rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b), must be £19,999 or less outside of London, or £27,999 or less in London, on each day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or combined rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will stop from the day of the increase.

Additional support for small businesses

The government has introduced additional support to small businesses. Businesses that occupy another property that would take them above the combined limit to qualify for the relief will now receive continued support. The government have confirmed that applicable companies will now be able to keep their relief for a 12 month period.

If you qualify for this relief but have not received it, then please contact us. As long as the ratepayer continues to qualify for the relief then they will automatically continue to receive relief in each new valuation period.

Changes in circumstances

We will need to be informed of some changes to circumstances. The changes that we should be notified of are:

(a) The ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and;

(b) An increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.