Small Business Rate Relief

From 1st April 2005 a new rate relief scheme became available to help small businesses.

Who will qualify?

Only properties with a rateable value under £15,000 can be considered for the relief.
Ratepayers occupying only one property in England with a rateable value under £15,000 will qualify for the relief.
Ratepayers occupying more than one property in England may also qualify providing the additional properties each have a rateable value of less than £2,200 and the total value of all the properties remains below £15,000. In these cases only the main property will be eligible for the relief.

How much will it be?

All eligible properties (with rateable values below £15,000) will have their bill calculated using a reduced multiplier (e.g. up to April 2007 this is 42.6p instead of 43.3p, from April 2007 this is 44.1p instead of 44.4p).
Eligible properties with a rateable value of less than £5,000 will get 50% rate relief.
For eligible properties with a rateable value from £5000 to £9,999 the amount of relief will reduce on a sliding scale of 1% for every £100 below £10,000 rateable value
Eligible properties with rateable values from £10,000 to £14,999 will not receive a relief reduction but will have their bill calculated using the reduced multiplier (or tax rate).

When to apply

Ratepayers can make an application for relief in respect of the current financial year in which the application is made. An application for a previous year's relief must be made no later than 30th September in the year following the financial year for which relief is sought.

How to Apply

Ratepayers must complete, sign and return an application form to the Local Taxation Section in order for Small Business Rate Relief to be considered.

From 2007 the government has changed how you apply for this relief and instead of having to make an application each year you will only have to make a claim once during each valuation period. A Valuation Period lasts 5 years (currently 1st April 2005 to 31st March 2010).

To find out more about the scheme, click on the link below:

Rate relief for small businesses - explanatory notes

Rating advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill.
Appeals against rateable values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish to be
represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS -
website www.rics.org.uk) and the Institute of Revenues.

Rating and Valuation

(IRRV - website www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, 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 into any contract.

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