Business Rates Reductions (relief)
Partly
Occupied Property ReliefSmall Business Rate Relief
Rate Relief for Business in Rural Areas
Charity and Registered Community Amateur Sports Club Relief
Discretionary Rate Relief
Non-Profit Making Organisation Relief
Hardship Relief
Rating Advisers
Partly Occupied Property Relief
A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or only partly occupied. Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, the local authority has discretion to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
Small Business Rate Relief
The relief is only available to ratepayers who apply to their local authority and who occupy either –
- one property, or
- one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have rateable value of less than £2,200.
The rateable value of the property mentioned in (1), or the aggregate rateable value of all properties mentioned in (2), must be under £15,000 outside London or £21,500 within London, including on 1April in the financial year in question, on the day for which relief is sought, and each intervening day. If the rateable value, or aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of increase.
Ratepayers who satisfy these conditions will have the bill for their single or main property calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier rather than the ordinary non-domestic rating multiplier that is used to calculate the liability of other businesses.
In addition, if the single or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value of up to £10,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 50% for a property with a rateable value of not more than £5,000.
If an application for relief is granted, provided the ratepayer’s circumstances do not change, the application will not need to be renewed until the next revaluation of non-domestic premises, which happens every five years. Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to the local authority by the ratepayer (other changes will be picked up by the local authority). The changes which must be notified are:
- the ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief; and
- an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
Notification of these changes must be given to the local authority within 4 weeks of the day after the day the change happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer’s entitlement to the relief. A notification that the ratepayer has taken up occupation of an additional property must be by way of a fresh application for relief; notice of an increase in rateable value must be given in writing
Full details on the eligibility criteria and on how to apply for this relief are available from the local authority.
Follow link to download Small Business Application Form (pdf, 27 KB)
Rate Relief for Business in Rural Areas
Certain types of properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to relief. The property must be the only general store, the only post office or a food shop and have a rateable value of less than £7,000, or the only public house or the only petrol station and have a rateable value of less than £10,500. The property has to be occupied. An eligible ratepayer is entitled to relief at 50% of the full charge whilst the local authority also has discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill.
In addition, the local authority can give relief on certain other occupied property in a rural settlement where the rateable value is less than £14,000.
Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
Charity and Registered Community Amateur Sports Club Relief
Charities and Registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the Charity or Club and is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes or as a Registered Community Amateur Sports Club.
The local authority has discretion
to give further relief on the remaining bill. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
For more information about Community
Amateur Sports Club Status please go to www.hmrc.gov.uk/casc/casc_guidance.htm.
(External link)
Discretionary Rate Relief
With the impending move to ‘One Council’ for Wiltshire on 1st April 2009, a new discretionary rate relief policy will be agreed by the new Wiltshire Council. Therefore the current discretionary relief scheme operated by Kennet District Council will end on 31 March 2009.
When the new discretionary rate relief policy has been agreed by the Wiltshire Council Executive Committee, sometime during this year, current recipients of this relief will be invited to apply under the new policy.
This change does not affect mandatory rate relief.
If you have any queries regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact the council’s Business Rates officer.
Non-Profit Making Organisation Relief
The local authority has discretion
to give relief to non-profit making organisations. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
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Hardship Relief
The local authority has discretion to give relief in special circumstances. Full details can be obtained from the local authority.
Rating Advisers
Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill. Appeals against rateable values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS – website www.rics.org.uk) and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV – website www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct. Before you employ a rating adviser, you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.
Enquiries
to: Revenues Department, Kennet District Council, Browfort, Bath Road, DEVIZES, SN10 2AT
Telephone:
(01380) 724911. E-mail: businessrates@kennet.gov.uk.
Fax: (01380) 728736
Valuation
Office Agency (VOA), Spring Gardens House, Princes Street, Swindon, SN1 2HX, Telephone: (01793) 581400
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