What are Business Rates?

Business Rates, also known as National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR), are rates that businesses must pay. These charges are how people who use non-domestic properties contribute to the cost of local services.

Business Rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, such as:

shops
offices
pubs
warehouses
factories
holiday rental homes

The money that is collected is shared between the County Council, the Fire Authority and us, the District Council. As Business Rates revenue, benefits us and the County Council, both organisations aim to work with local businesses to create a good environment for growth.

Revenue from Business Rates, together with Council Tax, Government support grants and other Government funding, goes towards paying for the services provided by our council and Cambridgeshire County Council.

For more information on Business Rates and how they are spent, read our current Business Rates explanatory notes 2025 leaflet [PDF, 96Kb] or see the GOV.UK website.

How are your Business Rates calculated?

We work out your Business Rates by multiplying the rateable value, set by the Valuation Office Agency, by the appropriate multiplier, which Central Government sets each year.

Central Government sets the multipliers from 1 April each year for the whole of England. There are 2 multipliers:

Small Business Non-Domestic Rating multiplier

The small business rate multiplier is a lower figure. It's used for properties where either of the following apply:

you are in receipt of small business rate relief
the property has a rateable value less than £51,000 (from 1 April 2024 this includes properties occupied by charities and unoccupied properties).

Standard Non-Domestic Rating multiplier

The standard multiplier is for all properties where the small business multiplier doesn't apply.

The standard multiplier is higher to pay for Small Business Rate Relief, except in the City of London where special arrangements apply. The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.

From 1 April 2025 the Standard multiplier is 55.5p and the Small Business Rate multiplier is 49.9p.

Business Rates Instalments

Payment of Business Rates bills is automatically set to a 10-monthly cycle. However, there are Government regulations in place that allow businesses to make payments to their local authority in 12 monthly instalments.

These instalments can be paid by direct debit. Please complete the direct debit form if you would like to set this up.

If you wish to pay your Business Rates in 12 monthly instalments, please contact us as soon as possible.

Recovery process

Business Rates must be paid by the first day of each month or the fifteenth day of each month, based on how your instalments are set up. Failure to make payment in line with the instalments set out on your Business Rates bill may lead to recovery action.

The recovery process is outlined as follows:

At the point of missing a payment you will get a reminder notice –

if your outstanding balance is paid, within 7 days, your instalments will remain the same.
if your outstanding balance is not paid within 7 days or at all, you will receive a Summons.

If you previously missed a payment, but your account was brought up to date, and then this reoccurs –

you will receive a Final Notice. At this point, you lose your right to pay by instalments, but if you pay your outstanding balance, a new instalment plan may be able to be arranged, and a direct debit is set up
if you do not pay your outstanding balance, you will receive a Summons.

If a Summons notice is received, additional costs will be incurred. These costs will not be removed unless the Business Rates bill issued was incorrect.

Valuation and rateable value of your business

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is an agency of HM Revenues & Customs that values all non-domestic properties and draws up/maintains a full list of all rateable values. If Business Rates apply to your non-domestic property, the VOA adds it to the rating list and sets the rateable value. The rateable value broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market in line with the set revaluation date.

The rateable value provided by the VOA to work out your Business Rates charge is shown on the front of your bill.

The Valuation Officer may alter the value if circumstances change.

The full list of rateable values is available on the Valuation Office Agency website . If your property is brand new (or newly refurbished) so does not appear in the list, you must report it to the VOA.

Checking and challenging your rateable value

You and certain others who have an interest in the property, for example the owner of the property or an agent acting on your behalf, can check and/or challenge the stated value of your business for free if you believe it is wrong.

On the GOV.UK Business Rates valuation page you can:

request changes to property or valuation details if you think they’re wrong
view the valuation details of other properties
challenge the rateable value of your business (if you are eligible to do so).

You can choose to appoint an agent to carry out this work for you.

Until your check or challenge request is processed, you must pay the full amount shown on your rate demand notice.

If you overpay as a result of your check or challenge request, the overpaid amount will be refunded, and interest may be added to the refund. This only applies if payments have been made strictly in accordance with the regulations for the payment of Non-Domestic Rates.

For information about how to check and/or challenge your valuation, more information is available on the step by step guide to checking and challenging your business valuation on the GOV.UK website.

Billing authorities can only backdate Business Rates rebates to the date of when changes to the list come into effect.

The Valuation Office Agency will continue to alter rating assessments if new information is presented, which then makes the valuation inaccurate.

Rating advisors

You do not have to be represented in discussions about your rateable value or Business Rates bill.

If you do wish to have representation during these discussions, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV) are qualified advisory services that can represent you.

Before you employ a rating advisor, you should make sure they are qualified, and have the appropriate insurance. If necessary, always seek further advice from a registered advisory service before entering any contract.

Find out how to avoid Business Rates scams

National Revaluation Registers

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) regularly updates the rateable values of all business and other non-domestic properties (properties that are not just private homes) in England and Wales. This is called a revaluation.

Rateable values are based on the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date.

Revaluation 2017

The 2017 Rating List closed on 31 March 2023. No further amendments can be made to this list by the Valuation Office Agency, the only exception is as the result of a Valuation Tribunal.

Revaluation 2023

The current revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2023.

For the 2023 revaluation, the set valuation date was 1 April 2021. This was during the pandemic and the rent information the VOA used reflected this.

The next revaluation is due to be on 1 April 2026.

Contacting the Valuation Office Agency

We are responsible for anything to do with your Business Rates bill. The VOA is responsible for the valuation of your property. You will therefore need to contact the VOA for all queries about your rateable value.

Transitional Relief Scheme

The Transitional Relief Scheme for 2023 to 2026 is intended to help ratepayers who see a significant rise in rateable value of their property following the 2023 Revaluation. This scheme phases in increases by limiting the amount Business Rates can go up each year for up to 3 years after the revaluation. Transitional arrangements are set by central government,

If a transition applies to your property, your Business Rates bill will automatically include it.

The transition scheme compares the charges based on the rateable value of your property on 31 March 2023 (in the 2017 rating) to the charges based on the rateable value on 1 April 2023 (in the 2023 rating list).

It is important to understand that transitional arrangements do not take account of reliefs, so the amount you pay could still increase significantly in a revaluation year, if the rateable value of the property has increased to a level that means you can no longer claim a previous relief.

In addition, you can't get transitional relief for any part of the bill that relates to an increase in rateable value resulting from changes to the property after 1 April 2023.

Contact our Business Rates Team for more information about the transitional arrangements or visit the Business Rates section on the GOV.UK website.