Reduce your business rates

Ratepayers who are not entitled to another mandatory relief or are liable for unoccupied property rates and occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £15,000 will have their bill calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the national non-domestic rating multiplier.

In addition, if the sole or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value which 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.

Extending the small business rates relief (SBRR) grace-period from one to three years

Businesses will now keep their small business rates relief on their first property for three years after they take on a second property, instead of just one year.

Eligibility

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 rateable value or aggregate rateable value of the property must not exceed £20,000 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.

How to apply

An application for small business rate relief is required. Where a ratepayer meets the eligibility criteria please complete the online form.

What you will need

To complete and submit the online request, you will need to have the following details:

• Details of the liable party, such as business address and contact details

• Your business rates reference number

• Start date of reduction

Apply online
  

Apply for small business rate relief

Provided the ratepayer continues to satisfy the conditions for relief which apply at the relevant time as regards the property and the ratepayer, they will automatically continue to receive relief in each new valuation period. The entitlement to the relief will however be periodically reviewed.

New multipliers from 1 April 2026

If you do not qualify

If you are a small business and your property in England has a rateable value below £51,000, your bill will be calculated using the small business multiplier, which is lower than the standard one. This is the case even if you do not get small business rate.

See above for the multipliers.

Changes in circumstances

Certain changes in circumstances will need to be notified to us by a ratepayer who is in receipt of relief (other changes will be picked up by us). The changes which must be notified are:

• the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and

• an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the council which granted the relief.

Please email rates@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk with your business rates reference number.

Supporting small business (SSB) relief 

Bill increases for businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief will be capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026. The 2026 SSB relief scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their RHL relief. The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 supporting small business scheme from 1 April 2026. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.  

Charities and Community Amateur Sport Clubs are already entitled to mandatory 80% relief. As such they are not eligible for 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief. 

More information about SSB is on Gov.UK.

There is no need for you to apply for this relief, it will be automatically applied to eligible businesses. However, if you think you’re eligible for either relief and it’s not showing on your bill, please email rates@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk.