You can get small business relief if:
- you only occupy one business property in England with a rateable value below £15,000
- the relief does not apply to empty properties
- from 1 April 2017 you will get 100% relief for a property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less, meaning you will not pay any business rates for it
- for properties with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £14,999, the rate of relief is awarded on a sliding scale decreasing from 100% to 0%. For example:
| Rateable Value |
Percentage Reduction |
| Up to £12,000 |
100% |
| £12,750 |
75% |
| £13,500 |
50% |
| £14,250 |
25% |
| £15,000 and over |
0% |
- you occupy more than one property, and the rateable values of your additional properties are below £2,900 and the aggregate rateable value of all the properties (including the main one) is less than £20,000. If this is the case, you would only qualify for relief on the main property
- if you are currently receiving relief and occupy an additional property with a rateable value above £2,900, the existing relief would continue for 1 year. For those businesses expanding after the budget, with effect from the 27 November 2025, the continuation period will increase from 1 to 3 years.
- If your property has a rateable value below £51,000, your business rates will be calculated using the small business multiplier non-domestic rating multiplier or the Small business RHL non-domestic rating multiplier, if applicable. This is the case even if you have multiple properties. A higher multiplier will apply if you are liable to pay rates on an empty property or if you are in receipt of a mandatory relief.
Small Business Rate Relief is calculated as follows:
- rateable value below £12,000 – Maximum 100% relief
- £12,001 to £15,000 – Relief gradually reduced on a sliding scale, for example £13,500 is 50 %
- £15,000 and over – No reduction but a lower multiplier is used to calculate the bill and other reliefs may be applicable.
Apply for Small Business Rate Relief
Contact the Business Rates Office
