South Gloucestershire Council

From 1 April 2017, if you occupy a property that has a rateable value of less than £15,000, you may be eligible for a discount on your business rates known as small business rate relief.

The relief is applied on the following scale:

• properties with a rateable value up to and including £12,000 can receive 100% relief
• properties with a rateable value between £12,001 and £14,999 can receive a tapered relief

The relief is available to ratepayers with either:

• one property or
• one main property and other additional properties, providing the additional properties do not have individual rateable values of more than £2,899 and a combined rateable value of all the properties is under £20,000

All properties with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will have their occupied rates calculated using the Small Business Non-domestic Multiplier.

Small Business Rate Relief can only be backdated for the maximum of 6 years. You will not need to complete an application form but you must inform us if you wish for the relief to be applied and/or if the relief has been applied incorrectly.

The scheme prior to 1 April 2017 was:

• properties with a rateable value up to and including £6,000 can receive 50% relief
• properties with a rateable value between £6,001 and £11,999 can receive a tapered relief

From 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2017 the relief was topped up by the government to be 100% for properties up to and including £6,000 rateable value, with tapered relief of between 100% and 0% for properties with rateable values between £6,001 and £12,000.

Properties with a rateable value between £12,000 and £18,000 will be eligible to have their charge calculated on a lower multiplier.

The relief is available to ratepayers with either:

• one property or
• one main property and other additional properties, providing the additional properties do not have individual rateable values of more than £2,600 and the combined rateable value of all the properties is under £18,000

Please note that unoccupied properties do not qualify for small business rate relief.

Once you have applied for this relief it will remain on your account. If you have any change in circumstances please notify us within four weeks of the change.

If you consider yourself eligible for this relief, please complete and return the small business rate relief form.