How are business rates calculated?

The council works out the business rates bill for a property by:

  • multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate non-domestic multiplier
  • applying any qualifying transitional phasing
  • awarding any applicable reliefs or exemptions

Non-domestic multipliers 

We use the non-domestic rating multiplier to produce the annual rate bill for a property. The multiplier is set by the Government each year. 

The multipliers change every year in line with inflation. By law they can't go up by more than the rate of inflation, except in the year of a revaluation.

There are two multipliers:

  • the standard non-domestic rating multiplier
  • the small business non-domestic rating multiplier.

Both multipliers for a financial year are based on the previous year's multiplier adjusted to reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation figure for the September prior to the billing year, unless a lower multiplier is set by the government.

The standard multiplier

For properties with a rateable value of £51,000 or more the multiplier is 54.6p from 1 April 2024 (in 2023/24 it was 51.2p)

The small business multiplier

The small business rates multiplier for April 2024 to March 2025 is 49.9p for any property with a rateable value of less than £51,000. 

This also includes empty properties and properties occupied by charities who previously had to pay the higher multiplier.

Information on business rates multipliers on Gov.uk

For more information on our budget and how we spend your money see:

Council budget and spending