2023-24
Non-domestic rates
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. Under the business rates retention arrangements introduced from 1 April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally. The money, together with revenue from council taxpayers, locally generated income, and grants from central government, is used to pay for the services provided by local authorities in your area.
For further information check Business rates system - GOV.UK.
Business rates instalments
Payment of business rates bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, the Government has put in place regulations that allow ratepayers to require their local authority to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments. If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact the council as soon as possible.
National non-domestic rating multiplier
The local authority works out the business rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier.
There are two multipliers:
- standard non-domestic rating multiplier
- small business non-domestic rating multiplier.
The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year, except in the City of London where special arrangements apply.
Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the standard non-domestic rating multiplier.
Both multipliers for a financial year are based on the previous year’s multiplier adjusted to reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure for the September prior to the billing year unless a lower multiplier is set by the Government. The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.
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 Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. A full list of all rateable values is available at VOA website.
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 specified in legislation. The next revaluation will come into effect on 1 April 2023, based on rateable values from 1 April 2021. The VOA may alter the valuation if circumstances change.
Further information about the grounds on which challenges may be made and the process for doing so can be obtained by contacting the VOA, or by checking the VOA website.
Revaluation
All non-domestic property rateable values are reassessed at revaluations.
At revaluation, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) adjusts the rateable value of business properties to reflect changes in the property market. The most recent revaluation came into effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2023, based on rateable values from 1 April 2021.
Frequent revaluations ensure the system continues to be responsive to changing economic conditions.
Business rate reliefs
Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for a rate relief (i.e. a reduction in their business rates bill). There are a range of available reliefs. Further details are provided below and at Introduction to Business rates - GOV.UK.
Temporary reliefs
Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but other temporary reliefs may be introduced by the Government at a fiscal event. Further details on current temporary reliefs is available at Business rates relief - GOV.UK.
You should contact the council for details on the latest availability of business rates reliefs and advice on whether you may qualify.
Small business rates relief
If a ratepayer’s sole or main property has a rateable value which does not exceed a set threshold, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for the property of up to a maximum of 100%. The level of reduction will depend on the rateable value of the property. For example, eligible properties with a rateable value below a specified lower threshold will receive 100% relief while eligible properties above the lower threshold and below a specified upper threshold may receive partial relief. The relevant thresholds for relief are set by the Government by order and can be obtained from the council or at Introduction to Business rates - GOV.UK.
Generally, these percentage reductions (reliefs) are only available to ratepayers who occupy either:
- one property, or
- one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed the limit set by order.
The aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (2), must also not exceed an amount set by order. For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, they will be allowed to keep that relief for a fixed additional period. Full details on the relevant limits in relation to second properties and the current period for which a ratepayer may continue to receive relief after taking on an additional property can be obtained from the council or at Introduction to Business rates - GOV.UK.
Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer who is in receipt of relief (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which should be notified are:
- the property falling vacant,
- the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, or
- 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 Clubs
Relief Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club 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 club (or of that and other clubs).
The local authority has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. Full details can be obtained from the council.
Transitional rate relief
The new Rateable Values (RVs) that came into effect from April 2023 saw a number of winners whose RVs go down and a number of losers whose RVs go up. In order to mitigate the immediate effect of RV increases the Government has continued a transitional scheme for the 2023 rating list.
The transitional relief scheme means that large increases in rating liability (from an increase in RV at revaluation) are phased in.
If applicable, transitional relief is automatically applied to your account – you do not have to apply for it.
For each rating list Government sets the amount by which a property’s rates increase by (plus inflation), depending on the rateable value of the property. The maximum increase amounts for the 2023 rating list are as follows:
| Year | RV <£20K | RV >£20K & <£100K | RV >£100K |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24< | 5% | 15% | 30% |
| 2024/25 | 10% | 25% | 40% |
| 2025/26 | 25% | 40% | 55% |
Local discounts and hardship relief
Local authorities have a general power to grant discretionary local discounts and to give hardship relief in specific circumstances. Full details can be obtained from the council.
Unoccupied property rating
Business rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises, whilst certain other properties such as vacant listed buildings are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied. Full details on exemptions can be obtained from the council at or from Business rates relief - GOV.UK.
Subsidy control
The new UK subsidy control regime commenced from 4 January 2023. The new regime enables public authorities, including devolved administrations and local authorities, to deliver subsidies that are tailored for local needs. Public authorities must comply with the UK’s international subsidy control commitments.
The subsidy control legislation provides the framework for a new, UK-wide subsidy control regime. Further information can be found on UK subsidy control regime – GOV.UK.
Rating advisers
Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about the rateable value of their property or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser or company 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 any contract.
Information supplied with demand notices
Information relating to the relevant and previous financial years regarding the gross expenditure of the local authority is available at Council budget and spending. A hard copy is available on request by writing to the council.
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. This power has also been extended to the mayors of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Liverpool City Region, West of England, and West Midlands combined authorities.
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.
The business rate supplement applicable in London is being levied by the Greater London Authority in relation to the Crossrail project, which delivered the Elizabeth line. The rateable value threshold in 2023-24 for the Crossrail BRS is £75,000. Further information can be found in the Crossrail BRS final prospectus.