Business Rates - Reductions, Exemptions and Discounts

Some businesses may be eligible for reductions in business rates.

• Retail Relief

  Updated information with effect the 1st April 2023

• Transitional Relief

• Charity and community amateur sports club relief

  A relief scheme for registered charities and community amateur sports clubs.

• Rate relief for businesses in rural areas

  A relief scheme for certain properties within a rural settlement that meet certain criteria.

• Hardship relief

  The local authority has discretion to give hardship relief in specific circumstances.

• Discretionary rate relief - not for profit organisations

  Billing authorities can award relief of up to 100% to non-profitmaking bodies.

• Empty, unoccupied properties

  Business rates will not be payable in the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial properties.

• Part occupied properties

  It is at the discretion of a local authority to apply a section 44a reduction.

• Small business rates relief

  A relief scheme for small businesses based on certain criteria.

• March budget relief scheme 2017

  Supporting Small Businesses (SSB), Local Discretionary Discount Scheme, Pub Relief, Local Newspapers

• Updated Relief Scheme March Budget 2020

  Supporting Small Businesses (SSB), Local Discretionary Discount Scheme, New Pub Relief, Local Newspapers

• Supporting small business relief

• Implementation of green reliefs

  At the Spring Statement on 23 March 2022, the Chancellor announced that the Government would bring forward from April 2023 to April 2022 a measure to support investment in green energy efficiency. The measure was a 100% relief for eligible low-carbon heat networks which have their own rates bill.