Business rates

Explanatory notes for business rates

Non-domestic rates

Non-domestic rates, or business rates, collected by Central Bedfordshire Council 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 1 April 2013, authorities keep a proportion of the business rates paid locally.

The money, together with revenue from Council Tax, locally-generated income, and grants from central government, is used to pay for the services provided by Central Bedfordshire Council in your area.

Read more about business rates on GOV.UK.

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 officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. 

They compile and maintain a full list of all rateable values.

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 value 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 obtained by contacting the VOA, or by consulting the VOA website.

How to challenge your business rates valuation on GOV.UK.

Non-domestic rating multiplier

Central Bedfordshire Council works 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 & leisure multiplier
  • the standard retail, hospitality & leisure multiplier
  • the high value multiplier

The government sets the multipliers for each financial year, except in the City of London where special arrangements apply.

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 & leisure properties will have their bills calculated using the relevant retail, hospitality & 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.

Business rates instalments

Payment of business rate bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle. However, the government has put in place regulations that allow businesses to require us to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments. If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact us as soon as possible:

Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 8011

Direct Debit

Direct Debit is the easiest way to pay your bill. If you’re a sole trader, the quickest way to set up your Direct Debit is to complete our online form.

Set up your business rates Direct Debit

If your bank or building society requires more than one signature to set up a Direct Debit, then please download a Direct Debit mandate form or call us on 0300 300 8000 to have a paper form sent to you.

The Direct Debit will be collected each month (as detailed on a schedule we will send you), and you are fully protected against mistakes under the terms of the Direct Debit Guarantee. You can make your payments on either the 5th, 9th, 19th, or the last day of each month. Alternatively, you may pay half-yearly on 9 May and 9 October, or annually on 9 June.

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. 

Find out more about Revaluation 2026 on GOV.UK.

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 automatically applied and is shown on the front of your bill.

Find out more about transitional rate relief on GOV.UK.

Business rates reliefs

Depending on individual circumstances, a ratepayer may be eligible for rate relief (i.e., a reduction in your business rates bill). There are a range of available reliefs. Some of the permanent reliefs are set out below but other temporary reliefs may be introduced by the government at a fiscal event. Further detail on the current temporary reliefs is available on GOV.UK. 

Types of Business Rates relief on GOV.UK.

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 properties. After this period, rates are payable in full. In most cases, the unoccupied property rate is zero for properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs, as well as other properties such as vacant listed buildings, which are not liable for business rates until they are reoccupied. In addition, there are a number of exemptions from the unoccupied property rate.

Small business rate 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.

In addition, generally, if the sole or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value that does not exceed £15,000, the ratepayer will receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 100%. For a property with a rateable value of not more than £12,000, the ratepayer will receive a 100% reduction in their rates bill.

Generally, this percentage reduction (relief) is only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

  • one property or
  • one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,899

The aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b), must not exceed £19,999 outside London or £27,999 in London on each day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of the increase.

The government has introduced additional support to small businesses. For those businesses that take on an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rates relief, the government has confirmed that they will be allowed to keep that relief for a period of 12 months if the additional property was taken on before 27 November 2025, or for a period of 3 years if the additional property was taken on or after 27 November 2025.

If you meet the eligibility criteria and have not received SBRR, please apply online.

Apply for Small Business Rate Relief online

If you are unable to apply online, please email businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk and a specialist officer will contact you to continue with your application.
 

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 discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill.

For full details, please contact us:

Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 8011

Supporting Small Business Relief

At the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR scheme) will cap bill increases at £800 per year or the relevant caps within transitional relief (whichever is the greatest), for any business losing eligibility for Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief at the 2026 revaluation. The 2026 SSBR scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their Retail Relief. The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief for those ratepayers receiving 2023 SSB relief on 31/3/26 (including those also receiving SBRR, Rural Rate Relief and/or RHL Relief on 31/3/26), any eligibility for 2026 SSBR will end on 31 March 2027.

All other eligible ratepayers remain in 2026 SSBR for either 3 years or until they reach the bill they would have paid without the scheme.

Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs, who are already entitled to 80% Mandatory Relief, are not entitled to Supporting Small Business Relief. Eligibility for Supporting Small Business Relief will cease if the property becomes vacant or becomes occupied by a charity or Community Amateur Sports Club. A change of ratepayer will not affect eligibility for the Supporting Small Business scheme.

The Supporting Small Business Relief scheme is likely to amount to a subsidy. Therefore, any relief provided by Central Bedfordshire Council under this scheme will need to comply with the UK’s domestic and international subsidy control obligations.

This relief is applied automatically to your annual bill.

2023 to 2026 Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Scheme

From 1 April 2026, the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief Schemes have been replaced by the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multipliers. Therefore, eligible ratepayers will no longer see a reduction on their bill for relief, but their Business Rates will have been calculated using the new multipliers. 

Subsidy control

The UK subsidy control regime commenced from 4 January 2023. The subsidy control 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.

Further information about subsidy control on GOV.UK.

Local discounts and hardship relief

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

For full details, please contact us:

Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 8011

Rating advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value, their rates bill, or any other reductions or reliefs they may be entitled to. Appeals against rateable values can be made easily and free of charge.

Read more about reductions and reliefs, or ask us:

Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 8011

You can find out how to appeal your rateable value from GOV.UK, or call us on 0300 300 8011.

However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) 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, 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 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. An eligible ratepayer is entitled to relief at 100% of the full charge.

For full details, please contact us:

Email: businessrates@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 300 8011

Information supplied with demand notices

Read about our gross expenditure in relevant and previous financial years.

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