Monday 20 July 2015

Small business rates relief explained

It is not common knowledge among small businesses that the local council may be able to offer you a discount on your rates, if your business or the property you occupy fit certain criteria.

We think the following information will help explain this for you:

Some properties are eligible for discounts on their business rates. This is called ‘business rates relief’.
Your local council will automatically apply some reliefs. Contact your local council if you’re not getting the discounts you think you’re entitled to.
You can get small business rate relief if:
  • you only use one property
  • your property’s rateable value is less than £12,000


What you get

You'll get 100% relief (doubled from the usual rate of 50%) until 31 March 2016 for properties with a rateable value of £6,000 or less. This means you won’t pay business rates on properties with a rateable value of £6,000 or less.
The rate of relief will gradually decrease from 100% to 0% for properties with a rateable value between £6,001 and £12,000.


You have more than one property

You can get small business rate relief if the rateable value of each of your other properties is less than £2,600.
The rateable values of the properties are added together and the relief applied to the main property.
You’ll keep getting any existing relief for one year when you get a second property.


You’re a small business but don’t qualify for relief

If your property has a rateable value below £18,000 (£25,500 in Greater London) you’re considered a small business.
Even if you don’t qualify for small business rate relief, your business rates will be calculated using the small business multiplier instead of the standard one. This is the case even if you have multiple properties.

The multiplier shows the percentage (pence in the pound) of the rateable value that you pay in business rates. A list of currentmultipliers is on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) website.

We hope you find this useful and if you have any other commercial property query, please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Belvoir Commercial
commercial@belvoirandover.com
01264 366611

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