From 1 April 2017 small business relief is available to ratepayers who occupy:
- only one business property in England with a rateable value of £15,000 or less, or
- one main business property, with a rateable value of £15,000 or less, and other additional business properties. The rateable value of each additional property must be £2,900 or less and the combined rateable value of all the properties, including the main one, must be less than £20,000. Relief can only be allowed in respect of the main property
If a business takes on an additional property that would normally mean the loss of small business rate relief, they are allowed to keep the relief for 12 months.
If relief is granted:
- liability on all properties is calculated using the small business multiplier, which for 2022-23 is 49.9 pence
- if the eligible property has a rateable value of £12,000 or less, small business rate relief of 100 percent will be allowed
- if the rateable value is between £12,001 and £15,000, relief is allowed in accordance with a set formula. The result is that the higher the rateable value the less relief is allowed
Small business relief doesn't apply to empty properties, or if the ratepayer is entitled to mandatory relief as a charity, a community amateur sports club or under the mandatory rural rate relief scheme. Liability will be calculated using the standard multiplier (51.2 pence for 2022-23).
Small business relief can be allowed in addition to discretionary rate relief for non-profit making organisations and businesses that receive discretionary rural rate relief.
Apply
To apply for small businesses rate relief, fill in our application form.
Small business rate relief application form
If the rateable value of a property is between £15,001 and £50,999 no relief is allowed but liability will be calculated using the small business multiplier (49.9 pence for 2022-23). This is done automatically and you don't need to apply.