Small business rate relief
As of 01 April 2017, changes were introduced to Small Business Rate Relief, which reduces rate liability for smaller properties that meet the eligibility criteria.
The 2017 changes increase the thresholds for Small Business Rate Relief, which are as follows:
- Occupied properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or less will attract 100% relief (no business rates will be payable)
- Occupied properties with a rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000 will receive tapered relief
Occupied properties with a rateable value up to £51,000 will be subject to the small business multiplier (except ratepayers in receipt of Mandatory Charitable Relief).
Eligibility:
Small Business Rate Relief can be awarded if a business has only one property, except where they have additional properties all of which have a rateable value of under £2,900 and the total rateable value of all their properties does not exceed £19,999.
Providing the ratepayer continues to satisfy the conditions for relief, which apply at the relevant time, as regards the property and the ratepayer, they will automatically continue to receive relief in each new revaluation period.
Ratepayers who satisfy the conditions will have the bill for their sole or main property calculated using the lower small business Non-Domestic rating multiplier rather than the National Non Domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the liability of the other businesses.
There are certain changes in circumstances the council will need to be notified of. These include:
(a) the ratepayer taking up occupation of any additional property within the UK
(b) an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than that which falls within the Lewes/Eastbourne area
(c) the ratepayer is vacating the property
Even if the property is eligible for and exempt of rates under the Small Business Rate Relief, the council must be updated with every change in occupation of the property.
Backdated Small Business Rate Relief:
You can apply for small business rate relief at any time during the current valuation period and for a further six months after the end of this period. You can also apply up to six months after the date the council is told about a change in the rateable value that means the property would be eligible for relief if this is later.
On 1 April 2017, the 2017 rating list came into effect. This means that you can apply for small business rate relief up to and including 30 September 2017 and still have this backdated to 1 April 2010. For applications received on the 1 October 2017 and later, Small Business Rate Relief can only be backdated to 1 April 2012.
Find out more about Small Business Rate Relief