Rate Relief for Small Businesses

The Government has introduced a new rate relief scheme to help small businesses from 1 April 2005.

This relief is available to ratepayers who occupy:

one property in England with a rateable value of less than £15,000, OR
one main property in England together with one or more additional properties, where the additional properties each have a rateable value of less than £2,200, and the combined rateable value of all the properties is less than £15,000.

The amount of relief awarded depends on the rateable value of the property as follows:

Rateable Value below £5,000 - 50% relief
Rateable Value £5,000 to £9,999 - the 50% awarded for rateable values below £5,000 will decrease on a sliding scale which is approximately 1% decrease in relief awarded for every £100 increase in rateable value
Rateable Value £10,000 to £14,999 - liability is calculated using the small business poundage.

From 1 April 2007, a claim need only be made once between each revaluation. This means that unless there is a change in circumstances, anyone receiving small business rate relief after 1 April 2007 will not have to complete a new claim form until 2010.

You must notify the Council of any change in circumstances within 4 weeks of the day after the change occurred. These changes include:

An increase in the rateable value of another property occupied by the ratepayer outside the area of the Council granting the relief.
Taking occupation of another property.

You can only claim small business rate relief on one property, even if you occupy two or more properties with a rateable value of less than £2,200. You cannot claim for unoccupied properties, or for properties entitled to mandatory rate relief.

For more information, or in order to make a claim, please contact the Local Taxes Division. It is a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement when making an application for Small Business Rate Relief.

The Small Business Rate Relief scheme is funded by a supplement charged on the rate bills on those businesses who do not qualify for small business relief.

For more information go to the Communities and Local Government website, to the Business Link website, or see valuations advice.

The PDF below is the application form for Small Business Rate Relief. Please print and return the completed form to:-

Wolverhampton City Council
Local Taxes Division
P O Box 250
Wolverhampton
WV2 1AX

This authority is under a duty to protect public funds and, to this end may use the information held or provided by you for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies for these purposes and also for the administration and collection of taxes and charges and for performing other statutory enforcement duties.