If you occupy a property that has a rateable value of £12,000 or less, you can receive a bill reduction up to a maximum of 100%. This relief decreases on a sliding scale for properties with a rateable value between £12,001 and £14,999. 

The small business multiplier is used for all occupied properties with a rateable value below £51,000, rather than the standard, national non-domestic rating multiplier. 

Check if you’re eligible

These reliefs are only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

  • one property, or 
  • one main property and other additional properties
    • the additional properties must each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,899, and the combined rateable value of all the properties must be under £27,999

The main property is the only one that will have the relief applied to it. The additional properties will have their charges calculated using the standard multiplier.

When to apply

You must submit an application for relief within 6 months of the end of the financial year when it applies. You don’t need to apply for the relief each year.

What you need to apply

You’ll need:

  • the business address
  • business rates account reference
  • rateable value of the property
  • your details 
  • any other businesses you pay business rates on

Apply

Apply for the small business rates relief

Tell us if anything changes

You’ll need to tell us about changes in circumstances, including:

  • the property falling vacant
  • if you take up occupation of an additional property 
  • an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief 
  • if a property you occupy in a different local authority increases in rateable value

If you stop being eligible for relief, it will cease on that day.

If you use more than one property

When you get a second property, you’ll keep getting any existing relief on your main property for 12 months.

You can still get small business rate relief on your main property after this if both the following apply:

  • none of your other properties have a rateable value above £2,899
  • the total rateable value of all your properties is less than £28,000