Skip to content
Menu

Rate reliefs

There are a number of different reliefs which can be granted to reduce the amount of business rates you need to pay.

Charity and discretionary relief

Charities are entitled to relief from rates on any non-domestic property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes. Relief is given at 80 per cent of the bill.

Charities and Registered Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) are also entitled to 80% relief where the property is occupied by the charity or Club and is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes or as a Registered Community Amateur Sports Club.

We also have discretion to give further relief on the remaining bill.

We also have discretion to give relief on all or part of any rate bill for property occupied by certain non-profit making bodies. 

Complete and return this form to apply for charity business rate relief (PDF File, 306kb).

Read the guidelines for discretionary relief (PDF File, 338kb) and get in touch if you feel that you may be entitled to this. Email us on business.rates@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or call 01636 650 000.

Hardship relief

 We have discretion to give hardship relief if we belief that both:

  • you would be in financial difficulty without it
  • it is in the interests of local people to grant hardship relief to your business

Complete and return our hardship relief form (PDF File, 295kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief.

Partly occupied property

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domestic rate whether a property is wholly occupied or partly occupied.  Where a property is partly occupied for a short time, we have discretion to award relief in respect of the unoccupied part. 

To apply for partly occupied rate relief, email us on business.rates@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or call 01636 650000.

Rural rate relief

Certain types of business in rural villages, with a population below 3000, may qualify for rate relief of 100 per cent from 1/4/17.

Businesses that qualify for this relief are the sole general store or the sole post office in the village, provided it has a rateable value of up to £8500; any food shop with a rateable value of up to £8500; and the sole pub and the sole petrol station in the village provided it has a rateable value of up to £12500.

The property must be occupied to qualify for this relief.

Non-domestic rates rural settlement list 2015/16

We are required to compile and maintain a rural settlement list (PDF File, 394kb) for the purpose of administering the village shop rate relief scheme.

A rural settlement must:

  • be within a rural area as defined under the housing (right to acquire) (designated rural areas in the south west) order 1997, and
  • have a population of not more than 3000 on the preceding 31 December

Complete and return our rural rate relief form (PDF File, 378kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief.

Small business rate relief

This relief is designed to help small businesses reduce their business rate bill.

Small businesses with a rateable value of up to £50,999 may qualify for a reduction on their rate bill. The relief is available to ratepayers occupying single properties in England.

Ratepayers who occupy one main property and other additional properties which have rateable values less than £2,899 and the aggregate rateable value of all the properties is under £19,999 may also apply for the relief.

The available relief is for properties with a Rateable Value (RV):

  • below £12,000 – 100 per cent
  • between £12,000 and £15,000 – percentage declining on a sliding scale
  • between £15,000 and £50,999 – no relief, but the lower small business rate relief multiplier will be used to calculate your bill

 If your property is already in receipt of mandatory relief, or is unoccupied, then small business rate relief will not apply.

Complete and return our small business rate relief form (PDF File, 397kb) if you believe you qualify for this type of relief. The cost of the relief is paid for by all other ratepayers as a supplement on their rate bills.

Expanded Retail Relief 2021/22

As announced at the Budget on 3 March 2021 by the Chancellor, the government will continue to provide eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England with 100% business rates relief from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021. This will be followed by 66% business rates relief for the period from 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022, capped at £2 million per business for properties that were required to be closed on 5 January 2021, or £105,000 per business for other eligible properties. 

Revised Business Rates demands will be issued with effect the 1st July 2021

Retail, hospitality and leisure relief scheme 2022-2023

At the Budget on 27 October the Chancellor announced the introduction of a new business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.

The 2022/23 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 50% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

As the scheme limits the amount to £110,000 per business and not property, the Council has evaluated each business and only awarded the relief where it feels appropriate.  Your bill will state Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme if this has been granted for your business. 

For further information please visit Business rates guidance: 2022/23 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Transitional relief

Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of revaluation.

This means changes to your bill are phased in gradually, if you’re eligible.

You get transitional relief if your:

  • property is in England
  • rates go up or down by more than a certain amount

We will adjust your bill automatically if you’re eligible. For more information about transitional relief visit the government website.

Extension of Transitional Relief and Supporting Small Businesses 2022/23

At the Budget on 27 October 2021 the government announced that it would extend the current transitional relief scheme and the supporting small business scheme for one year to the end of the current revaluation cycle. The scheme will restrict increases in bills to 15% for businesses with small properties (up to and including £20,000 rateable value) and 25% for medium properties (up to and including £100,000 rateable value).

For further information please visit Business rates guidance: Extension of Transitional Relief and Supporting Small Business Relief for small and medium properties - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2023 Supporting Small Business Relief Policy

In the 2022 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that the 2023 Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme will cap business rate bill increases at £600 per year for those businesses losing eligibility for some or all Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief as a result of the 2023 revaluation. SSB was first introduced at the 2017 revaluation to support ratepayers facing bill increases greater than the Transitional Relief caps due to loss of Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

For 2023/24 to 2025/26, the government will, in line with set eligibility criteria, reimburse local authorities that use their discretionary relief powers under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (as amended), to grant 2023 Supporting Small Business relief.

Scheme Administration

Newark and Sherwood District Council will administer a Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme, from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026, in accordance with the guidance released by government on 21 December 2022 and any updates thereafter.

The guidance is available on the gov.uk website.

The scheme run by the Council will not require an application process, relief will be awarded automatically where the governments eligibility criteria are met.

2023 Supporting Small Business Relief Policy (PDF File, 109kb)