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Help Reduce Your Business Rates
 Over
the past few months your business should
have received your new business rates
demand; you need to act now to ensure that
you do not miss out on any rate relief that
may be available.
If your business is run from a single
property and has a rateable value of under
£10,000 then you are entitled to claim small
business rates relief. Businesses with a
rateable value of under £5000 will get 50%
relief, this rate decreases on a sliding
scale to 1%. However, you need to remember
that rates relief is not
deducted automatically; eligible businesses
must apply for it.
The Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA) has urged small business
owners to remember that other forms of rate
relief may be available at the discretion of
the local authority. These forms of relief
include transitional relief, discretionary
relief, former agricultural premises relief,
small unoccupied premises relief, and
qualifying rural relief.
The ACCA also reminds that you can appeal
against your business’ new rateable value,
but you should be cautious of unsolicited
approaches from companies offering to reduce
your rates for an upfront fee. As you are
only allowed to appeal against your rates
value once, you could be left stuck if the
company fails to put your case across
adequately.
If you think you are being overcharged, you
need to first make sure that you are
claiming any relief available to you; you
should then consider contacting a qualified
rating surveyor who will be able to advise
you on whether an appeal is likely to be
successful in reducing the rateable value of
your business.
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