Business rates

There are a number of ways to pay your bill - find out here.

Information for Businesses for 2012-13 is available here.

Council budget information 2012-13 here

Non-Domestic Rates

Business rates deferral scheme 2012-13

Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services. Except in the City of London where special arrangements apply, the rates are pooled by central government and redistributed to local authorities as part of the annual formula grant settlement. The money, together with revenue from council tax payers, revenue support grant provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by your local authority and other local authorities in your area.  Further information about the business rates system, including transitional and other reliefs, may be obtained at www.businesslink.gov.uk

Business Rate Supplements

The Business Rate Supplements Act 2009 enables levying authorities - county councils, unitary district councils and in London, the Greater London Authority - to levy a supplement on the business rate to support additional projects aimed at economic development of the area.  Business Rate Supplements (BRS) are not applicable to properties with a rateable value of £50,000 or below, and authorities have discretion to increase that threshold. The total maximum BRS which may be levied by a levying authority is 2p per pound of rateable value.  Levying authorities have the power to apply such reliefs to the BRS as they think appropriate and in such cases must include an explanation of the rules for the application of those reliefs in the final prospectus for the BRS.

This business rate supplement is being levied by the Greater London Authority in relation to the Crossrail project.  Further information may be found in the BRS project prospectus "The Crossrail Business Rate Supplement - Final Prospectus" which can be found at www.london.gov.uk/crossrail-brs 

Rateable Value

Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values, available on their website at www.voa.gov.uk. The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date. For the revaluation that came into effect on 1 April 2010, this date was set as 1 April 2008.

The valuation officer may alter the value if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the value shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. Further information about the grounds on which appeals may be made and the process for doing so can be found on the VOA website or from your local valuation office.

National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier

The local authority works out the business rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier. There are two multipliers; the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier. The former is higher to pay for small business rate relief. Except in the City of London where special arrangements apply, the Government sets the multipliers for each financial year for the whole of England according to formulae set by legislation. Between revaluations the multipliers change each year in line with inflation and to take account of the cost of small business rate relief. In the year of revaluation, the multipliers are rebased to account for overall changes to total rateable value and to ensure that the revaluation does not raise extra money for the Government. The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.

Revaluation 2010 and Transitional Arrangements

All rateable values are reassessed every five years at a general revaluation.  The current rating list is based on the 2010 revaluation.  Five-yearly revaluations make sure each ratepayer pays their fair contribution and no more, by ensuring that the share of the national rates bill paid by any one ratepayer reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.  Revaluation does not raise extra money for Government. 

For those ratepayers who would otherwise have seen significant increases in their rates liability, the Government has put in place a £2 billion transitional relief scheme to limit and phase in changes in rate bills as a result of the 2010 revaluation.  To help pay for the limits on increases in bills, there were also limits on reductions in bills.  Under the transition scheme, limits continue to apply to yearly increases and decreases until the full amount is due (rateable value times the appropriate multiplier).  The scheme applies only to the bill based on a property at the time of the revaluation.  If there are any changes to the property after 1 April 2010, transitional arrangements will not normally apply to the part of a bill that relates to any increase in rateable value due to those changes.  Changes to your bill as a result of other reasons (such as changes to the amount of small business rate relief) are not covered by the transitional arrangements.

The transitional arrangements are applied automatically and are shown on the front of your bill. 

More information on revaluation 2010 can be found at www.voa.gov.uk

Unoccupied Property Rating

Business Rates will not be payable in the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are payable in full unless the unoccupied property rate has been reduced by the Government by order. In most cases, the unoccupied prperty rate is zero for properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs. In addition, there are a number of exemptions from the unoccupied property rate. Full details on exemptions can be obtained from the local authority. If the unoccupied property rate for the financial year has been reduced by order, it will be shown on the front of your bill.

Partly Occupied Property Relief

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, the local authority has discretion in certain cases to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.

Small Business Rate Relief

Ratepayers who are not entitled to another mandatory relief or are liable for unoccupied property rates and occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £17,999 outside London or £25,499 in London will have their bill calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the national non-domestic rating multiplier.

In addition, if the sole or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value which does not exceed £12,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 50% for a property with a rateable value of not more than £6,000.

This percentage reduction (relief) is only available to ratepayers who occupy either-

(a) one property, or

(b) one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,599.

The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the aggregate rateable value of all properties mentioned in (b), must not exceed £17,999 outside London or £25,499 in London on each day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of the increase.

An application for Small Business Rate Relief is not required. Where a ratepayer meets the eligibility criteria and has not recieved the relief, they should contact their local authority. Provided the ratepayer continues to satisfy the conditions for relief which apply at the relevant time as regards the property and the ratepayer, they will automatically continue to receive relief in each new valuation period.

Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by a ratepayer who is in receipt of relief (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which must be notified 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.

Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) Relief

Charities and registered CASCs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the CASC and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the CASC (or of that and other CASCs).

Complete an online application for mandatory charity relief here.

The local authority has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.

Non-Profit Making Organisation Relief

The local authority has discretion to give relief to Non-Profit Making Organisations. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.

Local Discounts and Hardship Relief

The local authority has discretion to give relief in special circumstances. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.

Cancellation of Backdated Rates Liabilities

The Government has through the Localism Act 2011 taken a power to allow for the cancellation of certain backdated rates bills that accrued on the 2005 rating list only. Information on the type of backdated rates liability that can be cancelled is available with Business Rates Information Letter titled Cancellation of Backdated Rates - http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localgovernmentfinance/businessrates/busratesinformationletters letters.

Rating Advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill.  Appeals against rateable values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS - website www.rics.org/uk) and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV - website www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.

Business rates - check your rateable value

The Council uses the rateable value provided by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to work out your business rates bill.  You can check your rateable value and compare it with others on the VOA website www.voa.gov.uk/valuation  You can also get in touch if you need to let them know of any issues.