Overview
What are business rates?
Business rates are charged on most buildings or structures which are not residential dwellings. The Council will send a bill to everyone who pays business rates before the start of each financial year. This bill will show the net amount due after any reductions have been applied.
The Council calculates your business rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier. There are two multipliers: the national non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier. The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year. The multipliers for 2024/25 are:
- 0.546 for the non-domestic rating multiplier
- 0.499 for the small business non-domestic rating multiplier
The multiplier for a financial year is based on the previous year’s multiplier adjusted to reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure for the September prior to the billing year. The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.
With gov.uk, you can find further information on how business rates are calculated.
The Council maintains a list of all the businesses within its boundaries that are liable for business rates. This list shows the address, description and rateable value of the business. It does not include sole traders or partnerships.
You can download this list an Excel file (it is not exhaustive and if your property does not appear on it, you may still be liable for business rates).
List of businesses - July 2024
If the property is empty, it could still be liable for unoccupied property rates, and the person who holds the legal title for the property is responsible for paying the bill.
You can view the Council's business rates information leaflet as a PDF file.
Business rates information leaflet
The gov.uk website also provides more details on business rates.