How your Business Rates are worked out

The Council multiplies the rateable value of your property, which is set by the Valuation Office Agency, by a multiplier (the national non-domestic multiplier) which is set by central government. It is set for the whole of England and is effective from 1 April each year. The multiplier represents the number of pence in each pound of the rateable value that will be payable in business rates before any reliefs or discounts are applied. The calculation gives the amount of rates payable for the year.

The Government reviews the multiplier each year to reflect changes in inflation. By law, the multiplier cannot increase or decrease by more than the rate of inflation, except in the year of a revaluation. In that year it is set at a level which will keep the total amount raised in rates after the revaluation the same as before, plus inflation for that year. The current revaluation took effect from 1 April 2023. Future revaluations will be carried out every three years.

The rateable value of a property is an assessment of the annual rent the property would rent for it it were available to let on the open market at a fixed valuation date. (This is known as the Antecedent Valuation Date or AVD).

• From 1 April 2017 rateable values were based on the valuation date of 1 April 2015.
• From 1 April 2023 rateable values are based on the valuation date of 1 April 2021

There are two multipliers for each year, the standard national Non-Domestic Multiplier (which applies to properties with a rateable value of £51,000 and above, empty properties and properties occupied by Charities) and the Small Business Multiplier (which applies to occupied property with a rateable value less than £51,000).

The multipliers from 2017 onwards are shown below

 * The Small Business multiplier has been frozen since 2020/21