What are Business Rates?

Business Rates are a local tax charged on most non-domestic (commercial) properties. It is also known as National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR).

They are administered and collected by local authorities; however, the amount you pay is set by Central Government.

Business Rates collected contributes to our overall budget and helps to fund the services that we provide as a council.

What properties are liable for Business Rates?

Any property that is not intended for use as somebody’s residence will be liable for Business Rates. Shops, offices, factories, pubs and warehouses are some examples.

Holiday homes that are available for commercial letting for 140 days a year or more AND actually let commercially for 70 days or more in the previous 12 months will be charged Business Rates. To find out more go to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) website.

Some non-domestic properties are exempt from rates. The most common types are farmland and buildings, churches, sewers and public parks.

Who has to pay?

Anyone using a building or part of a building for non-domestic purposes has to pay business rates.

If the property is empty, there is still a charge in most cases, and the owner/leaseholder/freeholder must pay this.

How are Business Rates calculated?

Business Rates are based on the property’s rateable value which is set by the Valuation Office Agency. The Council has no say in how your rateable value is calculated. The Valuation Office Agency is committed to revaluing properties every 3 years, with the next revaluation effective from 1^st April 2026.

Further information on your rateable value can be found on the Rateable value page.

The local authority works out the Business Rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier.

What are multipliers?

At the Budget on 26^th November 2025, the Chancellor announced that there would be 5 Multipliers with effect from 1^st April 2026 and that these would replace the current 2 Multipliers.

Instead of applying Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief to ratepayers who qualify, this will be replaced by a RHL Multiplier.

The Non-Domestic Multipliers are as follows:

Small Business RHL multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value below the threshold of £51,000 who meet the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure criteria – 38.2p
Small Business non-domestic rating multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value below £51,000 who do NOT meet the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Criteria – 43.2p
Standard Multiplier for properties with an Rateable Value of £51,000 or above who meet the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure criteria – 43.0p
Standard Multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value of £51,000 or above who do NOT meet the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure criteria – 48.0p
High Value non-domestic rating multiplier for properties with a Rateable Value of £500,000 or above – 50.8p

The Non-Domestic Multiplier for 2025/2026 is 55.5p
The Small Business Non-Domestic Multiplier for 2025/2026 is 49.9p – this applies to all properties with a Rateable Value below the threshold of £51,000
The Non-Domestic Multiplier for 2024/2025 is 54.6p
The Small Business Non-Domestic Multiplier for 2024/2025 is 49.9p – this applies to all properties with a Rateable Value below the threshold of £51,000

Transitional Relief Supplement

A transitional relief supplement of 1p will be added to the relevant tax rate (multiplier) for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or who are not eligible for Supporting Small Business Scheme to partially fund Transitional Relief. This will apply for one year from 1 April 2026.

Home-based businesses

The local property tax you pay, in England and Wales, will be either Council Tax or Non-domestic (business) Rates, depending on the type of property.

Some properties are part business and part domestic, so may pay both taxes. Good examples are public houses where the publican lives on the premises, or shops where the shopkeeper lives in a flat over the shop.

What if you are a home-based business?

Generally, you should not have to pay business rates for minor business use of the home. The Government does not normally expect home-based businesses to have to pay business rates if:

you use a small part of your home for your business (for example you use a bedroom part of the day as an office), and
you do not use it to sell goods or services to visiting clients or members of the public (as opposed to selling by post), and
you do not employ other people to work at the premises, and
you have not made alterations of a sort that would not usually be associated with a home (such as converting a garage to a hairdressers or installing a hydraulic car lift).

Contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to find out if you should be paying business rates.

Self-Catering Business Rate Rules

In order for a self-catering property to be valued for Business Rates, rather than Council Tax, the property must be :

Available for letting commercially (with a view to making a profit) for short periods. These short periods must total 140 days or more in the previous, and in the current year

AND

Let commercially for 70 days or more in the previous 12 months

It is the availability and actual letting of a property which will determine whether it is eligible for Business Rates, rather than Council Tax. If a property does not meet the eligibility rules, then it will be moved out of Business Rates and into the Council Tax Valuation List.

New self-catering accommodation will be liable for Council Tax each day until the property meets the eligibility rules.

Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website.