There are a number of reliefs and exemptions available for local business depending on the size of their premises and how it is used. The most common reliefs and exemptions are detailed for occupied and unoccupied empty premises.
Occupied properties
Small business rate relief
You may be eligible for small business rate relief if you submit an application and:
- your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000, or
- your business only uses one property – you may still be able to get relief if you use more
What you receive
If you meet the qualifying criteria you will not pay business rates on a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less.
For properties with a rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000, the rate of relief will go down gradually from 100% to 0%.
Examples
If your rateable value is £13,500, you’ll get 50% off your bill. If your rateable value is £14,000, you’ll get 33% off.
If you use more than one property
If you take on an additional second property you can continue to receive any existing relief on your main property for 12 months.
If you have multiple properties you can still receive small business rate relief on your main property after this if both the following apply:
- none of your other properties have a rateable value above £2,899, and
- the total rateable value of all your properties is less than £20,000
You’re a small business but do not qualify for small business rate relief
If your property has a rateable value below £51,000, your bill will be calculated using the small business multiplier, which is lower than the standard one which means you will pay slightly less. The small business multiplier is £0.499 and the standard multiplier is £0.512 from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Retail discount
You could qualify for a retail discount if your premises is open for trade to visiting members of the public (subject to COVID19 localised restriction rules) and it is officially described in the Rating List as being:
- a shop
- a restaurant, café, bar or pub
- a cinema or music venue
- a hospitality or leisure business – for example, a gym, a spa, a casino or a hotel
What you receive
If you are eligible you will receive:
- 100% off your business rates bills for the first 3 months of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021)
- 66% off your business rates bills for the rest of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022) – up to a total value of £2 million
If your business was legally allowed to open during the national lockdown starting 5 January 2021, your discount for 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be capped at £105,000 rather than £2 million.
You can receive the retail discount on top of any other business rates relief you’re eligible for.
If you opt out of the retail discount for the 2021 to 2022 tax year you cannot change your mind.
Nurseries discount
You could qualify for nurseries discount if:
- your business is on Ofsted’s Early Years Register, and
- your premises is wholly or mainly used to provide the Early Years Foundation Stage of education
What you receive
If you’re eligible, you could get:
- 100% off your business rates bills for the first 3 months of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021)
- 66% off your business rates bills for the rest of the 2021 to 2022 tax year (1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022) – up to a total value of £105,000
You can receive the nurseries discount on top of any other business rates relief you’re eligible for.
If you opt out of the nurseries discount for the 2021 to 2022 tax year you cannot change your mind.
Mandatory Charitable relief
Charities and community amateur sports clubs can apply for charitable rate relief of up to 80% if a property is used for charitable purposes. To qualify for this relief you will need to be a charity registered with the Charity Commission or a community amateur sports club registered with HMRC and the premises will need to have been used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes.
Exempt buildings
Certain properties are exempt from business rates. This means they do not appear in the Rating List and the local authority cannot charge business rates.
You may not have to pay business rates on:
- agricultural land and buildings, including fish farms
- buildings used for training or welfare of disabled people
- buildings registered for public religious worship or church halls
However, there are strict legal requirements for these exemptions and an application needs to be made the Valuation Office Agency to remove the property from the Rating List. You can report that you think it should be exempt using the Valuation Office Agency service. Fylde Council are not involved in this process.
Empty properties
You do not have to pay business rates on empty property for the first 3 months since it became empty. After this time, most businesses must pay full business rates.
Some properties can receive extended empty property relief if they are:
- industrial premises (for example warehouses) are exempt for a further 3 months (6 months in total)
- listed buildings – indefinitely, or until they are reoccupied
- buildings with a rateable value under £2,900 – until they’re reoccupied
- properties owned by charities – only if the property’s next use will be for charitable purposes
- community amateur sports clubs buildings – only if the next use will be as a sports club