Small Business Rate Relief Scheme
Increase in level of Small Business Rate Relief
With Small Business Rate Relief eligible ratepayers pay no rates on properties with rateable values up to £6,000, with a tapered relief of between 100% and 0% for properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000.
In the budget statement on 23 March 2011 it was announced that the temporary increase in Small Business Rate Relief, which started on 1 October 2010 and was due to end on 30 September 2011, will now continue for a further year (1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012).
The measure doubles the usual rate of relief so that ratepayers with rateable values below £6,000 pay no rates at all for the period, while ratepayers with rateable values between £6,000 and not more than £12,000 receive tapered relief from 100% – 0%.
You need take no action. Once the legislation is in place, you will be sent a revised bill. In the meantime, you must continue to pay your current instalments, if you have any. Current collection and enforcement procedures will continue to apply to ratepayers who miss scheduled instalments.
If we believe you are eligible for Small Business Rate Relief we will shortly write to you outlining the scheme in more detail and answer the most frequently asked questions, but should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Outline of the scheme
Eligible properties with a rateable value of less than £6,000 will get 50% rate relief. This will decrease on a sliding scale of 1% for every £120 below £12,000 rateable value.
Eligible properties with a rateable value from £12,000 to below £25,500 within Greater London, will have rate relief of 0%, but will benefit in that their bill will be calculated using the lower rating multiplier.
All eligible properties will have their bill calculated using the lower small business rating multiplier instead of the standard one.
If a ratepayer is eligible for charity relief then they receive that relief rather than small business rate relief. Transitional relief is applied before the small business rate relief is applied.
Eligibility criteria
The property must have a rateable value below £25,500, in Greater London, and must meet the criteria on 1 April of the relevant chargeable year and on every chargeable day for which they are claiming eligibility.
The rate relief is only available to ratepayers with either
- one occupied property, or
- one main occupied property and other additional occupied properties providing those additional properties have rateable values less than £2,600 and the total value all the properties remains under an overall threshold of £25,500.
Please note: If you make a backdated claim under the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme after 1 October 2010, the furthest your claim can be backdated is to 1 April 2010.
Calculation of the bill - changes through the Year
The relief will be applied to one property only.
The bill will be calculated for each chargeable day for which it remains eligible. As soon as a ratepayer fails to meet the criteria above, they are no longer due the relief.
Charge on the other properties
The charge on the other additional properties (each under £2,600) will be based on the higher non-domestic rating multiplier.
Buffer zone
Properties in the buffer zone (RV from £12,000 to £25,499) must apply for the relief. The same eligibility criteria apply.
Application and registration
The application form for Small Business Rate Relief
(pdf, 33KB) is available for download.
Please send your completed application form to the Business Rates Team at Civic Centre, 44 York Street, Twickenham, TW1 3BZ