Business rates in England, or non-domestic rates, are a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property (National Non-Domestic Rates; NNDR). Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was formalised with the Vagabonds Act 1572 and superseded by the Poor Relief Act 1601. The Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41) introduced business rates in England and Wales from 1990, repealing its immediate predecessor, the General Rate Act 1967. The act also introduced business rates in Scotland but as an amendment to the existing system, which had evolved separately to that in the rest of Great Britain. Since the establishment in 1997 of a Welsh Assembly able to pass legislation, the English and Welsh systems have been able to diverge. In 2015, business rates for Wales were devolved.
The Local Government Finance Act 1988, with follow-up legislation, provided a fresh administrative framework for assessing and billing but did not redefine the legal unit of property, the hereditament, that had been developed through rating case law.
Properties are assessed in a rating list with a rateable value, a valuation of their annual rental value on a fixed valuation date using assumptions fixed by statute. Rating lists are created and maintained by the Valuation Office Agency, a UK government executive agency. Rating lists can be altered either to reflect changes in properties, or as valuations are appealed against. New rating lists are normally created every three years. The most recent rating list was published in 2026.
In financial year 2014–15, authorities collected a total of £22.9 billion in business rates, representing 3.53% of the total UK tax income and achieving an average in-year collection rate of 98.1%.
On 1 April 2013 a new system of business rates retention began in England. Before April 2013 all business rate income collected by councils formed a single, national pot, which was then distributed by government in the form of formula grant. Through the Local Government Finance Act 2012, and regulations that followed, the government gave local authorities the power to keep up to half of business rate income and transfer half of it centrally, to central government. The central share is then distributed to councils in the form of revenue support grants. The other half kept by local authorities are then subjected to tariff, levy, top-up and safety payments depending on the financial position of the council. According to the government the change gives financial incentives to councils to grow their local economies and increase their income from business rates. At the same time the new scheme has resulted in more risk and uncertainty.
History
Business rates are the latest incarnation of a series of taxes for funding local services known as rates, based on property values. The first rate was part of the Vagabonds Act 1572, which established relief for the poor at the local parish level, paid for by inhabitants of the parish. A system of rates to fund local government and services evolved over the next three centuries, including a separate system for London from 1869Valuation (Metropolis) Act 1869 to 1963.London Government Act 1963 Changes included a stricter definition of how to value for a rate;Parochial Assessments Act 1836 the introduction of a valuation list containing the assessed values;Union Assessment Committee Act 1862 the ability to object to the assessed value;Union Assessment Committee Amendment Act 1864 and the introduction of the valuation officer, appointed by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue & Customs), as the assessor.
The immediate predecessor to business rates was the general rate, established by the General Rate Act 1967. This was a local tax in England and Wales on both domestic and non-domestic property and was based on rental values. It retained the core concept of how to identify a rateable property from the older rating systems, which, along with other features, can still be seen in the modern system. The Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41) repealed the General Rate Act and replaced it with two new taxes from 1 April 1990. The Community Charge, better known as the "poll tax", replaced the rating of domestic property. It was itself later replaced by Council Tax. The remaining non-domestic properties were to be covered by a modernised version of the general rate.Hamilton et al. pp.465–467
The new non-domestic rating system became known as business rates, or sometimes the universal business rate. It retained from its predecessors the concept of a series of local rating lists, with each property being assessed for a rateable value based on rental values. Rating lists were prepared and maintained by the Valuation Office (reconstituted in 1991 as a UK Government executive agency, the Valuation Office Agency), while billing and collection was the responsibility of local authorities. Previously, local authorities had decided what proportion of rateable values to charge; the new system featured a centrally set multiplier, often referred to as the Uniform Business Rate, by which the basic bill was calculated. The bill could be further modified by various reliefs, including the newly introduced transitional relief, which was designed to smooth large changes in liability due to revaluations. The multiplier was calculated to ensure that, on average, bills rose by no more than the rate of inflation.
A system of rating had also evolved in Scotland, through separate legislation. While in many ways similar, key underlying concepts in the Scottish system differed, as did the administrative scheme. The Local Government Finance Act 1988 renamed the Scottish rates, and imposed the centrally set multiplier, but did not otherwise disturb the Scottish rating legislation.Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41) Part X
During the introduction of business rates, criticism focused on the level of the multiplier to be chosen, and on the transitional relief scheme, with organisations such as the Confederation of British Industry calling for a lower multiplier and a relief scheme more to the benefit of its members. In 2007, the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government said there was no significant opposition to the principles of the tax, but that the level was a concern to property-intensive businesses. Due to the overall yield being linked to the Retail Prices Index as a measure of inflation, the contribution of business rates to local government finance has decreased compared to Council Tax and government grants. Many local authorities have called for the rate to be increased, and for the power to set the multiplier to be returned to local control; both suggestions have been opposed by business organisations such as the British Retail Consortium. The Lyons Inquiry rejected the return to local control, and instead proposed giving local authorities the power to levy a local supplement, in consultation with affected businesses; responses from the business sector have ranged from caution to opposition. Following the creation of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, some of the powers previously exercised by the UK government were devolved to the Welsh Assembly government. The English and Welsh systems were able to diverge slightly, with Wales setting a different Uniform Business rate multiplier, and different reliefs.
Billing and reliefs
For each property in the rating list for their area, the local authority calculates and issues a bill, which it is responsible for collecting, with powers to pursue payment. The rateable value is multiplied by the Uniform Business Rate, referred to in legislation as the non-domestic rating multiplier, to arrive at an annual bill. For example, a rateable value of £10,000 and a multiplier of 40p would produce an annual bill of £4,000.Hamilton et al. p.510 The bill usually requires payment in instalments over the financial year.Hamilton et al. p.615
Business rates multipliers
The multiplier is set by central government, and is uniform. Power to set the multiplier in Wales has been devolved to the National Assembly for Wales. A special case exists where a defined special authority can set its own multiplier within centrally defined limits.Local Government Finance Act 1988 section 144(6), and Schedule 7 The only currently qualifying authority is the City of London. The multiplier is increased annually, in April. The increase is capped at the same proportion as the increase in the Retail Prices Index for the month of September the preceding year. When re-valuations take place, the multiplier is adjusted so that the overall change across the country is the same as the Retail Prices Index change.Hamilton et al. p528Local Government Finance Act 1988 Schedule 7
The introduction of Small Business Rate Relief in 2005 added a supplement to the UBR to fund the relief. The income from business rates currently does not go directly to the local authority (unlike Council Tax); rather, it is pooled centrally and redistributed to the authorities.Hamilton et al. p.460 In financial year 2014–15, authorities in England collected a total of £22.9 billion in business rates, representing 3.53% of the total UK tax income and achieving an average in-year collection rate of 98.1%.
For 2016/17 the multiplier is 49.7 pence and the small business rate multiplier is 48.4 pence. The multiplier for 2017/18 is 47.9 pence, which means that as of that date, this tax has increased in real terms by 37.6% since its inception in 1990. The rateable values are updated to current market values, but the multiplier has increased from 34.8p (or 34.8%) to 47.9p (47.9%).
+ Business rates multipliers Year2025/262024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21 2019/20 2018/19 2017/18 2016/17 2015/16 2014/15 2013/14 2012/13 2011/12 2010/11 2009/10 2008/09 2007/08 2006/07 2005/06 Small business multiplier49.9p49.9p49.9p49.9p49.9p49.9p 49.1p 48.0p 46.6p 48.4p 48.0p 47.1p 46.2p 45.0p 42.6p 40.7p 48.1p 45.8p 44.1p 42.6p 41.5p Higher multiplier55.5p54.6p51.2p51.2p51.2p51.2p 50.4p 49.3p 47.9p 49.7p 49.3p 48.2p 47.1p 45.8p 43.3p 41.4p 48.5p 46.2p 44.4p 43.3p 42.2p Year2004/052003/042002/032001/022000/011999/00 1998/99 1997/98 1996/97 1995/96 1994/95 1993/94 1992/93 1991/92 1990/91 Multiplier45.6p44.4p43.7p43.0p41.6p48.9p 47.4p 45.8p 44.9p 43.2p 42.3p 41.6p 40.2p 38.6p 34.8p
Reliefs The bill may also be reduced by having one or more reliefs applied to it, such as reliefs for empty properties, or for charities. Reliefs are administered by the local authority and they do not affect the rateable value of a property. While some are mandatory, others are at the discretion of the local authority, who also have to bear, in whole or in part, the costs of some reliefs. In addition to specific reliefs, a hardship relief is available at the discretion of the local authority. A relief on non-agricultural business on agricultural land or former agricultural buildings was removed with effect from 14 August 2006.
Charitable and non-profit making organisation relief
There are three types of relief to which a charity may be entitled: mandatory relief on occupied property, discretionary relief on occupied property and mandatory zero rating for unoccupied property. The relevant legislation is the Local Government Finance Act 1988. The reliefs are not straightforward, and, in particular, the granting of the discretionary relief (which is by the local authority, or "billing authority") may vary from place to place.
In brief, the reliefs are a mandatory 80% relief on occupied properties, for which the charity must actively apply. An additional discretionary relief, of up to 20%, can also be applied for. The zero rating relief for unoccupied properties will apply where a property is unoccupied but will, when next occupied, be used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes (or those of a community amateur sports club).