Small business rate relief
From 1 April 2017 business rate relief is 100% for properties up to and including £12,000 rateable value, with tapered relief of between 100% and 0% for properties with rateable values between £12,001 and £15,000.
For those ratepayers who have lost their entitlement to small business rate relief due to the revaluation, the government has introduced a scheme to limit the increases in charges to £600 per year for the financial years 2017/18 to 2021/22.
We are aware that some ratepayers are approached by companies that promise to act on their behalf to reduce their rates liability – and that a minority of these companies are subsequently charging fees for ‘securing’ access to existing reliefs to which the ratepayer is already entitled.
It is the view of Lancaster City Council and the Government that these companies and agents are unnecessarily diverting business rate relief that is intended to help businesses into their own pockets – for example where little to no additional work is needed to obtain the relief.
All Business Rates reliefs and discounts can be obtained for free through Lancaster City Council. You do not require a rating agent to do this on your behalf. If you think that you meet the criteria, but have not submitted a claim for relief, you should contact us to see if you are entitled to support.
Apply for small business rate relief
- Small business rate relief application form (PDF, 105KB)
- Small business rate relief guidance notes (PDF, 307KB)
How does the scheme work?
As with the 2010 scheme, from 1 April 2017, two non-domestic rate multipliers are set by central government – the normal multiplier and a lower, small-business multiplier. The amount of relief granted will be dependent on the rateable value of the eligible property that you occupy and will be calculated as follows:
If you occupy an eligible property with a rateable value of £12000 or less, you are entitled to 100% small business rate relief.
If you occupy an eligible property with a rateable value of more than £12,000 and not more than £15,000, your bill will be calculated using the lower small-business multiplier. In addition, you will qualify for further relief depending on the actual rateable value of your property. You will receive 100% reduction, less approximately 1% for every £30 that the rateable value exceeds £12,000 on a sliding scale up to £15,000.
| Rateable value | Reduction |
|---|---|
| Under £12,000 | 100% |
| Under £12,600 | 80% |
| Under £13,200 | 60% |
| Under £13,800 | 40% |
| Under £14,400 | 20% |
| Over £15,000 | 0% |
If you occupy an eligible property with a rateable value of more than £15,000 and less than £51,000 your bill will be calculated using the lower small-business multiplier only. You will not receive any further relief.
Which properties are eligible?
An eligible property is a property where you are in occupation of:
- A property with a rateable value less than £51,000
- Only one non-domestic property in England or, one main non-domestic property and other additional non-domestic properties in England, providing that the additional properties have individual rateable values of less than £2,900 and the combined rateable values of all the properties is less than £20,000.
In the second case the relief will be applied to the main property only, but the charge on the additional properties will be based on the lower rating multiplier. From 14 February 2014, the Government has confirmed that if an additional property is taken on which would normally have meant the loss of Small Business Rate Relief they will be able to keep the relief on the original property for 12 months only.
Your rateable value can be found on your business rate bill, or on the GOV.UK business rates site.
Interaction with other reliefs
If you are entitled to 80% mandatory relief as a charitable body and small-business rate relief, you will receive 80% mandatory relief only.
If you are in receipt of Discretionary Rate Relief, which includes Retail Relief, you may still qualify.
Changes in circumstances
From 1 October 2006 ratepayers are obliged to notify the authority awarding small business rate relief of the following:
- Increases in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer that is not in the area of the billing authority granting small business rate relief. This must be notified in writing within 4 weeks of the increase.
- Occupation of a property not mentioned when originally applying for relief.
If a ratepayer does not notify the billing authority of the above within the 4 week period, they will lose relief from the date of the change/occupation until the date they do notify the authority.
The cost of this relief is paid for by other ratepayers and it is a criminal offence for a ratepayer to provide false information when making an application for small business rate relief.
What do you need to do?
If you think that you meet the criteria, but have not submitted a claim for small business rate relief, you should contact your local authority to see if you are entitled to support.
For further information see the GOV.UK business rates relief website.
Last updated: 19 June 2024