Small Business Rate Relief

Businesses classified as small businesses, with rateable values below £18,000 may be entitled to relief on their annual rates bill. The relief will be granted on application only, and will be reviewed on an annual basis.

The relief is available to ratepayers who occupy:

• only one business property in England, or

• if the ratepayer occupies two or more properties and only one is above rateable value of £2,599 and the total rateable values of all the occupied properties is not more than £18,000, the relief is given to the larger property based on the rateable value of the larger property only.

Provided an application form is received, eligible businesses with rateable values of £6,000 or below will get 50% rate relief on their liability. This relief will decrease on a sliding scale of 1% for every £120 of rateable value over £6,001 up to £12,000. In addition, such businesses will have their bill calculated using the small business non domestic multiplier. Eligible ratepayers with rateable values between £12,001 and £17,999 will have their rates calculated using the small business non domestic rating multiplier.

Temporary changes to Small Business Rate Relief

The Government has increased the level of relief entitlement for a limited time until 31 March 2013 Eligible ratepayers will receive relief at a rate of 100% on properties with rateable values of not more than £6,000, with a tapered relief of between 100% and 0% becoming applicable for properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000.

With Effect from 1 April 2012 ratepayers with a rateable value of £17,999 and below will automatically have their rates calculated using the small business non domestic rating multiplier even if they do not meet the above criteria.

The Small Business Rate Relief Scheme will be funded by a supplement on the rate bill of those businesses not eligible for the relief.

If your business ceases to be eligible on a day during the year in question, the relief will cease on that day.