Business rates are changing from 01 April 2023
The Valuation Officer Agency (VOA) will re-assess all rateable values from April 2023.
Business rates
Business rates is a local tax that is paid by the occupiers of all non-domestic/business property, in the same way that council tax is a tax on domestic property.
Business rates are charged on most business properties such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories. However, the property doesn't have to be used for a business - if it is used for purposes which are not domestic it is likely to be rateable. We will send you a business rates bill each year.
Roles and responsibilities
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) regularly updates the rateable values of all business and other non-domestic properties (properties that are not just private homes) in England and Wales. This is called a revaluation.
Rateable values are the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date. For the 2023 valuation, that date was 1 April 2021.
We use these rateable values to calculate business rates bills.
Revaluations are carried out to reflect changes in the property market, which means that business rates bills are based on more up-to-date information.
The next revaluation will come into effect on 1 April 2023.
Contacting the Valuation Office Agency
We (the Council) are responsible for anything to do with your business rates bill.
The VOA is responsible for the valuation of your property. You will therefore need to contact the VOA for all queries about your rateable value.
Finding your rateable value
You are now able to see the future rateable value for your property and get an estimate of what your 2023/24 business rates bill may be. You can do this through the VOA’s Find a Business Rates Valuation Service on GOV.UK.
Your property details need changing
To tell the VOA about changes to your property details (such as floor area sizes and parking) you need a business rates valuation account. The VOA may accept your changes and update the current and future valuations.
Sign in or register for a business rates valuation account
You think your rateable value is too high
From 1 April 2023, you will need to use a business rates valuation account to tell the VOA you think your rateable value is too high. You must continue to pay your business rates as normal until a decision has been made.
Sign in or register for a business rates valuation account ready for 1 April 2023.
How Coronavirus (COVID-19) affected future rateable values
The VOA bases most rateable values on an estimate of what it would cost to rent a property for a year, starting on a certain date.
For the 2023 valuation, that date was 1 April 2021. This was during the pandemic and the rent information the VOA used reflected this.