Understanding the April business rates revaluation

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Every five years, business rates are revalued. The latest review came into force at the beginning of this month, when all properties were given a new ratable value. The government claims that the new evaluations will make sure that the rates charged reflect the property market.

However, the new ratable value does not necessarily mean that your business rates will go up. The actual bill paid is a multiple of the ratable value. This ‘multiplier’ is fixed by the government.

If you would like to check the ratable value on your business premises, there is a government website available for this purpose.

If you dispute your new ratable value, or believe that the information that the government holds about your property is wrong, you are entitled to ask the council to review it. If the local council will not reduce the ratable value, an appeal can be made to the Valuation Tribunal.

Some properties are eligible for business rates relief, which is a discount set by the local council. Relief is available for small businesses, rural businesses, charities, pubs, enterprise zones or because of hardship. If you think that your business is eligible for rates relief, contact your local council for more Information.

Small businesses will receive extra relief, and those in properties with a ratable value of £12,000 or less will pay no rates. Additionally, those in properties between £12,000 and £15,000 will receive some relief. There is also a transitional relief scheme to provide temporary relief.

If your business premises are rented, you may be asked for details about your rent. Both tenants and landlords need to provide information, which will include the level of rent, any rent reviews that are due and any changes to the property.

Though many businesses rate bills will increase in the 2017/2018 tax year, the government estimates that over the next five years, business rates will be cut by over £6.7bn. Part of this will be due to the way that rate rises are index linked. In April 2020, rate rises will be indexed using the Consumer Price Index. Currently, they are linked to the Retail Price Index, which is higher than the Consumer Price Index.

To make it easy to deal with the new business rates, businesses can outsource all their financial management to a management accounting service, thereby making sure that they pay no more rates than they need to.