Rateable values

The Listing Officer (Her Majesty's Revenues & Customs) compiles the Rating List which took effect from the 1 April 1990. The current List (2010 List) came into effect on 1 April 2010. The Rating Lists are available for inspection at the Council Offices.

Transitional phasing

A transitional phasing scheme has been introduced to limit significant increases/decreases in rateable value. The Government has set a national multiplier, limited to the increase in the retail price index each year. This scheme is intended to operate for the full five years of the valuation period. Each year the previous year's rates bill will be compared with the current year and if applicable, phasing will limit the increase or decrease.

Large changes to the rateable value, may take several years before the actual liability replaces the phased bill, and in a few cases phasing may even continue into a new valuation period.

The rate bill

Your rate bill is calculated by multiplying the rateable value of your property by the national multiplier. This calculation will be shown on your annual bill. If you receive an amended bill, it will show a "reason for bill" which should explain why it has been issued.

Follow this link to find out more about the calculation of business rates.

You can now view your business rates bill online. To do this you need to email us giving your business rates account number, company name and address. Once we receive this we can validate your information and send you a password so that you can see your bills online.

How is it calculated?

Every five years, the Valuation Officer is legally required to re-value all rateable properties to ensure that the rateable values keep in line with current market conditions. The rateable value is based on an estimate of the rent that the property could normally expect to fetch on the open market on a fixed date. This date is known as the Antecedent Valuation Date and is shown below for each List.

List of valuation dates

List date	Effective date of list	Antecedent date of list
1990	1 April 1990	1 April 1988
1995	1 April 1995	1 April 1993
2000	1 April 2000	1 April 1998
2005	1 April 2005	1 April 2003
2010	1 April 2010	1 April 2008

Your new annual Business Rates bill

The new annual Business Rates bills, for the financial year starting on the 1st of April 2012, are currently being generated and sent.  There is no longer a legal requirement to send the explainatory guide to business rates as a leaflet sent with the bill.  We have therefore included all of the required guidance information in the document below which you can view or download.  The leaflet offers information on what the business rates is for, how the business rates is calculated, and also information about the ways to reduce your bill.