The rates payable per annum is calculated by multiplying the Rateable Value of the property by the appropriate 'multiplier' which is set each financial year by Central Government.

Rateable Value

Apart from properties that are exempt from Business Rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value, which is normally set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), an agency of the Inland Revenue. It draws up and maintains a full list of all rateable values, available on their website. 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 1 April 2010; this date was set as 1 April 2008.

The legal definition of Rateable Value is "the amount equal to the rent at which the property might reasonably be expected to let from year to year if the tenant undertook to pay all the usual tenant rates and taxes and bear the cost of repairs and insurance and other expenses (if any) necessary to maintain the property in a state to command that rent."

To find out your Rateable Value, you can use Find my property valuation on the VOA website.

National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier

There are two multipliers; the standard non-domestic rating multiplier (49.30) and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier (48.0). The former is higher to pay for small business rate relief.

For example, to calculate the rates payable (without any adjustments) on a property with a Rateable Value of £13,950 you would multiply the Rateable Value by 0.493 which gives £6,877.35 as the rates payable per annum.

See Small Business Rates Relief and GOV.UK for further information.

Transitional Arrangements

Property values normally change a good deal between each valuation. Transitional arrangements help to phase in the effects of these changes by limiting increases in bills. Any transitional adjustments are shown on the front of your bill.

See Transitional Relief and GOV.UK for further information about transitional arrangements.

Appeals against your Rateable Value

If your property has recently been revalued by the Valuation Office for Business Rates, it's rateable value may have changed from 1 April 2010. You can ask the VOA to change your business's rateable value if you think it is incorrect, or there has been some major change to the property. In other words, the valuation does not reflect the rental value of the property if it had been available for rent, on the open market, on 1 April 2008. This process is called 'making a proposal'.

If you wish to appeal against your rateable value, you can print out application forms and guidance notes from the VOA website.

Please return the appeal form to the Valuation Office at the address below:

The Valuation Office
Longbrook House
New North Road
Exeter
EX4 4GL

Web: Go to website

Tel: 03000 501501

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