How much are Business Rates?
How we work out bills
We work out your Business Rates bill by multiplying the 'rateable value' of your property by a factor set by central government (expressed as pence in the pound). This is known as the 'multiplier'.
What does rateable value mean?
The rateable value is a professional estimate of the annual rent for a property if it was available on the open market. The Valuation Office Agency, an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), sets this value every five years.
The current rateable values for all properties are based on 1 April 2008 property prices. You can access a list of these rateable values at the Valuation Office Agency web site.
What is the multiplier?
The Government each year fixes the multiplier or poundage and cannot by law rise by more than the amount of the increase in the retail prices index (RPI).
For 2012/13 the multipliers will be:
- small business multiplier - 45p
- standard multiplier - 45.8p
For example in 2012 to 2013, if the rateable value is £10,000, your business rates would be 10,000 x 45.8p = £4,580 per year (before any rate relief is applied).
Limits on bill changes
Property values can change a good deal between each re-valuation. Because of this, some properties are subject to transitional arrangements.
These arrangements help to soften the effects of large valuation changes by limiting the amount by which a bill may rise, or fall, following a re-valuation.
Other rate reliefs
Other rate reliefs are available which may, subject to satisfying certain conditions, reduce the amount of rates that you or your organisation are required to pay. These include:
- small business rate relief
- charitable rate relief
- relief for registered amateur sports clubs,
- partly occupied property relief and
- empty property rates relief.