Business Rates
Non-domestic premises are subject to Business Rates. Premises are given a ‘rateable value’ which is based on an assessment of the annual rent of a property if it was available to rent on the open market at a fixed evaluation date. The rateable value is then multiplied by a factor set by central government each year.
Only the local authority can calculate your rates liability and this is normally sent to you sometime between February and April.
For further information on business rates you can visit My Business Rates' website.
Business Rate Deferral Scheme 2009/10
On 31 March 2009, the Government announced that it would regulate to allow businesses to defer part of their payment of the 2009/10 Business Rates. The Non-Domestic Rating (Deferred Payments) (England) Regulations 2009 were laid before Parliament on 6 July 2009 and came into force on 31 July 2009.
These new regulations mean that businesses may be able to spread the payment of the increase in their 2009/10 Business Rates bills over a three year period.
If your bill has increased as a result of the end of the current transitional relief period, you may be able to defer 60% of this increase in your bill. If you did not qualify for transitional relief in 2008/9, then you can still defer 3% of your total 2009/10 bill.
You can apply at any time until 31 March 2010 provided you have some of your bill left to pay. We would encourage you to apply early. If you have less than 3% left to pay, you can defer your remaining balance.
Depending on when your application is made, the reduction in your payments should be reflected in either your next instalment or, at the latest, in the one following that. The amount you can defer will not change in either case.
To apply to defer the business rate increase contact your local authority.
Small Business Rate Relief
Retailers in England can apply small business rate relief. If your rateable value is less than £5,000 you are able to claim 50% rate relief. This relief decreases on a sliding scale by 1% for every £100 of rateable value over £5,000, up to £10,000. Your local billing authority will calculate the exact decrease.
In addition to this relief on liability, eligible businesses with rateable values of between £10,000 and £14,999 (or between £10,000 and £21,499 in London) will have their liability calculated using the small business rate, which is set by central government.
More information on small business rate relief and other types of relief, including where your premises is in a rural area with a population of less than 3000 can be found here.
Scotland
On April 1 2009 the Scottish Parliament rolled out its Small Business Bonus Scheme. If you pay non-domestic rates for properties with a combined rateable value of £15,000 or less then you will be eligible for the relief. The rate relief comes on a sliding scale;
Combined Rateable value of all business properties in Scotland Percentage relief available
Up to £8,000 - 100%
£8,001 to £10,000 - 50%
£10,001 to £15,000 - 25%
You must apply for the bonus Scheme, for an application form contact your local authority.
The application form should only take a few minutes to complete and you only need supply the name of the business, the address and the rateable value.
When calling your local authority ask to speak to the revenue or non-domestic rates section and ask for a Small Business Bonus Scheme application form. Many local authorities also have forms available to download online.
Your local authority can also advise about eligibility if you have more than one business property and interaction with other non-domestic rate relief’s.
Wales
Since April 2007 businesses in Wales have been able to access rate relief. Under the scheme, businesses with a rateable value up to £2000 receive a 50% reduction in their rates, while businesses with a rateable value between £2,001 and £5,000 receive a 25% reduction. It will be applied automatically to rates bills, so there is no need for business to apply.
In addition, there is an enhanced relief for Post Offices in all parts of Wales. Post Offices with a rateable value up to £9,000 will receive 100% relief, and those with a rateable value between £9,001 and £12,000 will receive 50% relief.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, there is a hardship relief scheme for small businesses. Hardship relief provides support to businesses in crisis because of exceptional circumstances or unforeseen events that may have affected the business badly and which could not be avoided. The scheme removes the need to pay rates during that time.