How is the Business Rates bill calculated?

Business Rates are calculated using the same rate in the pound, known as the ’multiplier’ or ’poundage,’ throughout England, no matter which council is collecting it (except the City of London).

Every five years the Valuation Office Agency (an agency of the Inland Revenue) carries out a valuation of every business property to determine a ’rateable value’ for each one. This creates Rating Lists (for 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010) for each council containing the rateable values for each business property in their area.

The rateable value is multiplied by the current poundage to determine the charge for the year (subject to some transitional arrangements which may be in place following each revaluation).

What is the rateable value?
The rateable value is the estimated annual rent which a landlord might expect for a property at particular point in time e.g. for the 2010 Rating List this represents the estimated rent at 1 April 2008. You can find your rateable value by visiting the VOA website.

What are the most recent multipliers?
2008/09 46.2p in the £

(45.8p in the £ for properties eligible for small business rate relief)

2009/10 48.5p in the £

(48.1p in the £ for properties eligible for small business rate relief)

2010/11 41.4p in the £

(40.7p in the £ for properties eligible for small business rate relief)

2011/12 43.3p in the £

(42.6p in the £ for properties for small business rate relief)

Vacating a property
If an occupier moves out and empties a property part way through the year, the rates will be recalculated so that he/she is only charged for the number of days the property was occupied. There may be, however, a subsequent empty property rate liability.

Contact the Business Rates Office using the details to the right of this page or visit:

Municipal Building
Cleveland Street
Birkenhead
Wirral
Merseyside
CH41 6BU

Office Opening Hours
9am-5pm. Monday to Friday