Explanatory notes for 2026 to 2027

General explanatory notes

Non-domestic rates

Non-Domestic Rates, or Business Rates, collected by local authorities are the way that those who occupy non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local services. Under the Business Rates retention arrangements introduced from 1st April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally.

The money, together with revenue from council taxpayers, locally generated income and grants from central government, is used to pay for the services we provide.

You can find further information about the Business Rates system on the GOV.UK website.

Business Rates instalments

Payment of Business Rate bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, government regulations allow local authorities to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments instead, if ratepayers require.

If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact us.

National non-domestic rating multiplier

We work out the business rates bill for a property by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier. There are five multipliers: the standard non-domestic rating multiplier; the small business non-domestic rating multiplier; the small retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier; the standard retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier; and the high value multiplier.

The government sets the multipliers for each financial year.

Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the standard non-domestic rating multiplier. 

Those ratepayers who occupy qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties will have their bills calculated using the relevant retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier dependent on the rateable value, and a high-value multiplier for properties with rateable values of £500k and above.

The current multipliers are shown on your bill.

Rateable value

Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of HMRC. They compile and maintain a full list of all rateable values, available on the VOA website.

The rateable value of your property is shown on the front of your bill. This broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date specified in legislation. 

For the current rating list, this date was set as 1 April 2024. 

The VOA may alter the valuation if circumstances change. The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can also check and challenge the valuation shown in the list if they believe it is wrong. 

Further information about the grounds on which challenges may be made and the process for doing so can be found on the VOA website.

Revaluations

All non-domestic property rateable values are reassessed at revaluations. The most recent revaluation took effect from 1 April 2026.

Revaluations ensure that business rates bills are up-to-date and more accurately reflect current rental values and relative changes in rents. Frequent revaluations ensure the system continues to be responsive to changing economic conditions. 

Business Rates relief

Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for a rate relief (i.e. a reduction in their business rates bill). There are a range of available reliefs. Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but temporary reliefs are often introduced by the government at Budgets.

Further details on Business rates relief and advice on whether you may qualify can be found in our rate relief section.

Further detail on reliefs is also provided on the GOV.UK website.

Temporary Reliefs

Temporary reliefs may be introduced by the Government at a fiscal event. 

Further detail on reliefs is also provided on the GOV.UK website.

You should contact us for details on the latest availability of business rates reliefs and advice on whether you may qualify. 

Small Business Rates relief

If a ratepayer’s sole or main property has a rateable value which does not exceed a set threshold, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for the property, of up to a maximum of 100%. The level of reduction will depend on the rateable value of the property. For example eligible properties with a rateable value below a specified lower threshold will receive 100% relief while eligible properties above the lower threshold and below a specified upper threshold may receive partial relief. 

The relevant thresholds for relief are set by the government. You can find more information on our small business rate relief page, or on the GOV.UK website's Small Business Rates relief page.

Generally, these percentage reductions (reliefs) are only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

1. One property
2. One main property and other additional properties, providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed the limit set by the government.

The aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in 2, must also not exceed the amount set by the government.

For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, they will be allowed to keep that relief for a fixed additional period. Full details on the relevant limits in relation to second properties and the current period for which a ratepayer may continue to receive relief after taking on an additional property can be obtained on the GOV.UK website.

Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to us by the ratepayer who is in receipt of relief:

• the property falling vacant
• the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property
• an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief 

Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club Relief

Charities and registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs).

We have the discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill. You can obtain full details by contacting us.

Transitional rate relief

At a revaluation, some ratepayers will see reductions or no change in their bill whereas some ratepayers will see increases. Transitional relief schemes are introduced at each revaluation to help those facing increases. Transitional relief is applied automatically to bills. 

You can obtain further information about transitional arrangements and other reliefs by contacting us or by visiting the GOV.UK website's transitional relief page.

Transitional relief supplement

A 1p supplement to the relevant tax rate for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business scheme will apply for one year from the 1 April 2026.

Please note that our software shows the 1p in the £ supplement known as Transitional Relief Supplement on all bills but is then offset within the Transitional relief or Supporting small business relief calculation.

How the transitional relief supplement is calculated 

If you do not qualify for transitional relief or Supporting Small Business Relief:

• your multiplier increases by 1p, for example, from 43.2p to 44.2p
• the supplement applies for one year only, 2026 to 2027

For example if your rateable value (RV) is 30,000, then:

• the 1p supplement is £0.01 × 30,000
• the additional amount payable is £300 for the year

This does not affect new properties added to the rating list from 1 April 2026. It is applicable to properties (also known as hereditaments) that have been created from splits or mergers of an existing hereditament already in the rating list.

Local discounts and hardship relief

We have a general power to grant discretionary local discounts and to give hardship relief in specific circumstances.

You can obtain full details by contacting us.

Unoccupied property rate relief

Business rates are generally payable in respect of unoccupied non-domestic property. However, they are generally not payable for the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial premises, whilst certain other properties such as vacant listed buildings are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied.

You can obtain full details on exemptions by contacting us or by visiting the GOV.UK website's empty property relief page.

Subsidy control

The new UK subsidy control regime commenced on 4 January 2023. The new regime enables public authorities, including devolved administrations and local authorities, to deliver subsidies that are tailored for local needs. Public authorities giving subsidies must comply with the UK's international subsidy control commitments.

Find further information about subsidy control on the GOV.UK website.

Rating advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct.

Before you employ a rating adviser or company 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.

Rate relief for businesses in rural areas

Certain types of properties in a rural settlement with a population below 3,000 may be entitled to full relief. The property must be the only general store, the only post office or a food shop and have a rateable value of less than £8,500, or the only public house or the only petrol station and have a rateable value of less than £12,500. The property must be occupied.

You can obtain full details by contacting us.

Information supplied with Demand Notice

Information relating to the relevant and previous financial years, in regard to the gross expenditure of the local authority, is available by contacting us at businessrates@bathnes.gov.uk