Question 1

Overview

Accepted Answer

Some properties are eligible for discounts from the local council on their business rates. This is called ‘business rates relief’.

Rates relief is handled differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You have to contact your local council to see if you’re eligible and apply for:

Your council automatically applies:

exempted buildings and empty buildings relief
transitional relief if your rates change by more than a certain amount at revaluation

Contact your local council if you’re not getting a relief you think you’re entitled to.

The government has announced there will be extra relief for businesses in England with the biggest rates increases as a result of the 2017 revaluation.

If your premises are affected by local disruption

You may get a temporary reduction in your business rates if your premises are affected by severe local disruption (like flooding, building or roadworks).

You can report that something external to the premises has affected its value using the Valuation Office Agency service.

Question 2

Small business rate relief

Accepted Answer

You can get small business rate relief if:

your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000
your business only uses one property - you may still be able to get relief if you use more

Contact your local council to apply for small business rate relief.

What you get

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%.

Examples

If your rateable value is £13,500, you’ll get 50% off your bill. If your rateable value is £14,000, you’ll get 33% off.

If you use more than one property

When you get a second property, you’ll keep getting any existing relief on your main property for 12 months.

You can still get small business rate relief on your main property after this if both the following apply:

none of your other properties have a rateable value above £2,899
the total rateable value of all your properties is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London)

You’re a small business but do not qualify for small business rate relief

If your property in England has a rateable value below £51,000, your bill will be calculated using the small business multiplier, which is lower than the standard one. This is the case even if you do not get small business rate relief.

The small business multiplier is 49.1p and the standard multiplier is 50.4p from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. The multipliers may be different in the City of London.

Question 3

Rural rate relief

Accepted Answer

You could get rural rate relief if your business is in a rural area with a population below 3,000.

You will not pay business rates if your business is in an eligible area and either:

the only village shop or post office, with a rateable value of up to £8,500
the only public house or petrol station, with a rateable value of up to £12,500

Contact your local council to check you’re eligible and to apply for rural rate relief.

Question 4

Charitable rate relief

Accepted Answer

Charities and community amateur sports clubs can apply for charitable rate relief of up to 80% if a property is used for charitable purposes.

Contact your local council to:

check if you’re eligible
find out if they can top up the discount to 100% (called ‘discretionary relief’)

If you’re not eligible for charitable rate relief

You may still be able to get discretionary relief if you’re a non-profit or voluntary organisation. Contact your council to find out.

Question 5

Enterprise zones

Accepted Answer

If you’re starting up or relocating to an enterprise zone you could qualify for business rates relief.

The council works out how the relief is applied. You could get up to £55,000 a year over 5 years.

Find your local enterprise zone to check whether it offers business rates relief, and how and when to apply.

Question 6

Exempted buildings and empty buildings relief

Accepted Answer

Exempted buildings

Certain properties are exempt from business rates.

You may not have to pay business rates on:

agricultural land and buildings, including fish farms
buildings used for training or welfare of disabled people
buildings registered for public religious worship or church halls

However, there are strict legal requirements for these exemptions.

If your property is in England, you can report that you think it should be exempt using the Valuation Office Agency service.

There’s a different way to report exemptions if your property is in Wales or from the 2010 valuation.

Empty properties

You do not have to pay business rates on empty buildings for 3 months. After this time, most businesses must pay full business rates.

Some properties can get extended empty property relief:

industrial premises (for example warehouses) are exempt for a further 3 months
listed buildings - until they’re reoccupied
buildings with a rateable value under £2,900 - until they’re reoccupied
properties owned by charities - only if the property’s next use will be mostly for charitable purposes
community amateur sports clubs buildings - only if the next use will be mostly as a sports club

Contact your local council to let them know when your property becomes vacant.

Question 7

Hardship relief

Accepted Answer

In England, councils can reduce your business rates bill with hardship relief.

To be eligible, you must satisfy your council that both:

you would be in financial difficulties without it
giving hardship relief to you is in the interests of local people

Contact your local council and explain your situation if you think you’re eligible.

Question 8

Transitional relief

Accepted Answer

Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of revaluation.

This means changes to your bill are phased in gradually, if you’re eligible.

You get transitional relief if your:

property is in England
rates go up or down by more than a certain amount

Your council will adjust your bill automatically if you’re eligible.

How much your bill can change by

How much your bill can change by from one year to the next depends on both:

your property’s rateable value
whether your bill is increasing or decreasing as a result of revaluation

You stop getting transitional relief when your bill reaches the full amount set by a revaluation.

The business rates year is from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

If your bill is increasing

Rateable value	2017 to 2018	2018 to 2019	2019 to 2020	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022
Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London)	5.0%	7.5%	10.0%	15.0%	15.0%
20,001 (28,001 in London) to £99,999	12.5%	17.5%	20.0%	25.0%	25.0%
Over £100,000	42.0%	32.0%	49.0%	16.0%	6.0%

If your bill is decreasing

Rateable value	2017 to 2018	2018 to 2019	2019 to 2020	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022
Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London)	20.0%	30.0%	35.0%	55.0%	55.0%
20,001 (28,001 in London) to £99,999	10.0%	15.0%	20.0%	25.0%	25.0%
Over £100,000	4.1%	4.6%	5.9%	5.8%	4.8%

If you’ve received a transitional certificate

The transitional certificate value will be used in the business rates calculation for your property instead of the usual rateable value.

If you disagree with the value of the certificate, contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Question 9

Retail discount

Accepted Answer

You could qualify for retail discount if your business:

is a shop, restaurant, café, bar or pub
is in England
has a rateable value of less than £51,000

Contact your local council to find out if you’re eligible.

What you’ll get

If you’re eligible, you could get a third off your business rates bill.

You can get the retail discount on top of any other business rates relief you’re eligible for.

The retail discount is available for the 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021 tax years.

Business rates relief

Overview

If your premises are affected by local disruption

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Business rates relief

Overview

If your premises are affected by local disruption

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