What are Business Rates?
Non-Domestic Rates, or business rates, collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services.
Under the business rates retention arrangements introduced from 1 April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally.
The money, together with revenue from council tax payers, locally generated income and grants from central government, is used to pay for the services provided by local authorities in your area.
Read further information about the business rates system
Businesses who occupy, or have entitlement to occupy, a commercial premises will be liable to pay business rates.
How are business rates calculated?
In order to calculate the rateable value, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) analyses the rental property market to ensure that rateable values reflect the property market accurately.
Business rates bills are calculated using a rateable value. Rateable values are based on how much rent a customer’s property could be let for, on a set date (1 April 2021 for Revaluation 2023).
Revaluation
Revaluation is a review of the rateable values of all non-domestic properties in England and Wales carried out by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).
This normally happens every 3 years.
The VOA values a property by its rateable value.
Rateable values are the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date.