About Business Rates

• What are business rates?
• How your business rates are worked out
• Understanding your business rate bill

What are business rates?

Business rate is a tax on business properties that helps to pay for the borough's services. It is also called the National Non-Domestic Rate.

Business rates are payable by the occupier of a non-domestic property. This is normally the owner/occupier or the leaseholder of the property.

A tenant or leaseholder remains liable to pay business rates if the property is empty. See our empty business premises page for more information.

How your business rates are worked out

Your bill is calculated by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the rate multiplier or ‘poundage’, which the Government sets from the 1 April each year.

There are two multipliers:

• the small business multiplier for 2023/24 remains at 49.9p in the pound for occupied properties which have a rateable value below £51,000
• the multiplier remains at 51.2p in the pound for empty properties and properties with a rateable value above £51,000 (this multiplier includes a supplement to pay for small business rate relief)

The amount your bill may increase or decrease by each year is limited by the transitional scheme set by the Government following the last general revaluation that comes into effect from 1 April 2023. This is worked out automatically and will show on your bill.

For details of the multipliers for previous years see our business rate multipliers page.