Relief available for business rates
There are a number of different types of business rate reliefs and exemptions available. The types of reliefs available can change from year to year.
If you apply for rate relief or an exemption, you must continue to pay the amount shown on your original business rates bill until we confirm any reduction by sending you a revised bill.
Some types of reliefs are mandatory, some are discretionary, and some have both a mandatory and discretionary element. The cost of reliefs is shared between central government and the authority.
Charitable Rate Relief
Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs can get 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).
We can award a further 20% in certain circumstances, giving up to 100% relief.
We can also give up to 100% relief for a non-domestic property that is occupied by an organisation not established or conducted for profit.
Hardship relief
In exceptional circumstances, we can give hardship relief to a ratepayer in difficulty.
Hardship relief is a discount on the rates payable for a specific period. It is a discretionary relief, which means it is not guaranteed.
You might be able to get hardship relief if your business is suffering unexpected hardship (financial or otherwise) and all of the following apply -
- the circumstances leading to the hardship are both beyond the control of the business and outside the normal risks associated with running a business
- the difficulties are temporary, and the business has a good chance of being viable in the long term
- the business might fail if we do not give hardship relief
You must be able to show you are taking reasonable steps to help yourself. We would expect you as a business owner to do everything you can to tackle the problems you are facing. This might mean, for example -
- getting business advice
- reducing overheads
- reviewing pricing
- offering discounts
- extending the range of stock or services or negotiating with creditors
You cannot get hardship relief to help establish a new business. This is unless the viability of the business is threatened by events you could not have reasonably foreseen.
Improvement Relief
If you make certain improvements to your property, you may get relief from higher business rates bills.
You do not need to apply for improvement relief or do anything differently. If you meet the necessary requirements, your council will apply the relief to your bills.
You can find out more about which improvements are eligible by going to GOV.UK.
If you have questions about a certificate of qualifying works, contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) at the email address on your certificate. The VOA cannot answer queries about the occupation condition or your business rates bill.
Small business rates relief
You can get small business rate relief if you -
- only use one property, and its rateable value is less than £15,000
- use more than one property, and the rateable value of each of your other properties is £2,899 or less, with the rateable value of all these properties combined being £19,999 or less
You can only get small business rate relief on one property.
The rateable values of the properties are added together, and the relief is applied to the main property.
If you don’t qualify for relief but your property has a rateable value of less than £51,000 you will still pay less. Your bill will be automatically calculated using the small business rate multiplier (even if you have more than one property).
Amount of relief -
- for properties with rateable value £12,000 or below, small business rate relief will be given at 100%
- for properties with rateable value between £12,001 and £14,999, small business rate relief will be given on a sliding scale – from 100% at the bottom of the range to 0% at the top
- for properties with rateable value £50,999 or less, the small business rate multiplier is used only (even if you have more than one property)
Businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief will be allowed to keep that relief for 12 months.
If you believe you should be getting small business rate relief but have not received it, contact us.
If you continue to satisfy the conditions for relief which apply at the relevant time, you will automatically continue to receive relief in each new valuation period.
If you get small business rate relief, you need to tell us about the following changes in circumstances (we will pick up on all other changes) -
- if the property becomes vacant
- if you take up occupation of an additional property
- an increase in the rateable value of a property you occupy outside of our council area
Supporting Small Business Relief
This relief is available to ratepayers who have lost some or all of their small business rate relief or rural rate relief from the 1 April 2023 as a result of an increase in rateable value as a result of a revaluation.
The scheme limits any increase in business rates to £600 per year. Relief will automatically be applied each year that the business is eligible to receive it; this could be every year or could end sooner if the bill amount without the relief is reached.
This means that in the first year of the scheme, all ratepayers losing some or all of their small business rate or rural rate relief will have the increase in their bill capped at £600. For subsequent years of the valuation period, the bill will increase by no more than £600 per year.
Should your property become empty during the period of the scheme or if you are entitled to mandatory relief for charities or community amateur sports clubs, you will no longer be eligible to receive supporting small businesses relief and your bill will return to the full amount due without this relief.
We automatically identify those ratepayers who should receive this relief and apply it to their bill.
If you feel that you qualify for this relief, but it is not showing on your bill, please contact the Business Rates Team.
Your business rates account
Contact the business rates team through your My Business Rates account if you -
- have a query about your business rates account
- wish to apply for a relief or an exemption