What are Business Rates?

This page gives a summary introduction to Business Rates. You can also look at a more in depth explanation on our Business Rates 2023-24 page.

Business Rates (also known as National Non-Domestic Rates) are a tax on business properties. The tax is set by the government, however, local councils are responsible for collecting it.

Who is responsible for paying Business Rates?

Property occupied solely by you or your company

A person (or company) is responsible for business rates for any property they occupy.  Even if you only occupy part of the property (as it is recorded by the Valuation Office Agency), you will still be responsible for 100% of the Business Rates bill. 

Joint responsibility

There can be more than one person or company responsible for business rates. Joint occupiers / owners are ‘jointly and severally’ responsible for the business rates bill for the property. This means any of the named parties can be held liable for the whole bill.

Unoccupied property

Business Rates (100%) are also payable on unoccupied property.

When a property is unoccupied, liability is returned to the owner or leaseholder of the property (that is, the person who is entitled to possession of the property).  They are responsible for the empty charge.

There are some exemptions and reliefs available for unoccupied property. More information can be found in the 'exempt properties' part of our Business Rate reliefs and exemptions page.

How are Business Rates calculated?

Your annual Business Rates bill is calculated by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate ‘multiplier’ (which is set by the Government each year).

The rateable value of your property is shown on your bill and represents the annual rent that the Valuation Office considers the property could have achieved on a particular date (currently 1 April 2021).

Multipliers for current and previous years