Business rates relief

Coronavirus COVID-19 support

Central Government has announced several measures to support businesses suffering due to Coronavirus. All up to date information can be found on the Government website.

Visit our support for businesses page for further information. 

Small business rate relief

You can get small business rate relief if:

• Your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000 and
• Your business only uses one property - you may still be able to get relief if you use more than one property

What you get

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.

To apply for Small business rates relief click below, if your application is approved you will not start receiving this relief until you are open and trading.

Apply for small business rate relief

If you use more than one property

When you take on a second property, you’ll keep getting any existing relief on your main property for 12 months. You cannot receive small business rate relief on the second property. 
You can still get 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
• The total rateable value of all your properties is less than £20,000 

If you’re a small business but do not qualify for small business rate relief

If your property in England has a rateable value below £51,000, your bill will be calculated using the small business multiplier, which is lower than the standard one. This is the case even if you do not get small business rate relief.

Transitional business rate relief

If the rateable value of your property changes significantly as a result of revaluation, your rates will change gradually. This is called transitional relief. After each revaluation there is a period of transition. No bill is allowed to increase or decrease by more than a set percentage. Any property with a large increase or decrease in its rateable value will come under the transitional relief scheme, which has the effect of phasing the valuation in over a period of time. If transitional relief applies to your rates bill, it will be applied automatically.

Retail Relief

At the Autumn Budget 2018 the government announced that it will provide a business rates Retail Relief scheme for occupied retail properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 in each of the years 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021. Your 2019/20 bill will include a detailed reduction if your business qualified for Retail Relief. Retail Relief is subject to EU state aid limits. If you were not awarded Retail Relief and feel that your business should have qualified, please complete the general enquiry form below

State Aid Relief

Changes in circumstances

You must notify us of any increase in the rateable value of a property you occupy which is not in the Plymouth City Council area. This must be received in writing within four weeks following the change, as this may affect the relief awarded.

Change in Circumstances

Charitable rate relief

If your organisation or company is a registered charity or a charity exempted from registration, you may be able to claim mandatory rate relief of 80 per cent. If you're registered as a community amateur sports club (CASC), you can receive 80 per cent rate relief. Find out about registering as a community amateur sports club on the GOV.UK website.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss applying for Discretionary Rate Relief, complete the general enquiry form below and a member of the team will be in touch.

Submit a General Enquiry

Other Business Rates Exemptions

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, www.rics.org) and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV, 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.