Reductions to Business Rates Bills

Details of any transitional relief are included on your bill. If you are receiving transitional relief, a reduction in your rateable value may not reduce the amount you pay. Please contact us for further information.

If a property has a rateable value of less than £25,499, it may be eligible for the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme. Please visit our Small Business Rate Relief Scheme guidance page for more information about this.

We can also reduce the amount that you have to pay for other reasons, for example, if a property is empty or it is occupied by a charity. To find out more please read the notes on the back of your Business Rate bill or contact us for further information.

Can I apply for Charitable Relief?

There are two types of relief; mandatory relief and discretionary relief.

Mandatory relief

A discount of 80% will be given where a business property is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. This relief is given to charities or their trustees, or to organisations that are specifically exempted from registration with the charity commission or registered with the Inland Revenue as a Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC). For more information about becoming a CASC, please visit HMRC's Community Amateur Sports Club guidance page.

Discretionary relief

Discretionary relief is given to non-profit making organisations. It is given at the discretion of the Council and can be given in addition to mandatory relief. To qualify for discretionary relief the organisation must be;

• a club, society or other organisation established and conducted wholly or mainly for recreational or sporting purposes;

and have a main objective that is;

• charitable, philanthropic, religious or concerned with education, social welfare, science, literature or the fine arts.

If you believe you may be eligible for relief please contact us or complete our Business Rates Charity Relief Form(pdf, 51KB)

If you intend to download and complete a form and return it to us you should read our Personal Information Policy before doing so.