Who has to pay business rates

You must pay business rates if you use a building or part of a building for non-domestic purposes. This could include:

  • shops
  • offices
  • pubs
  • warehouses
  • factories
  • rental holiday homes and guest houses

The property does not have to be used for a business. You’ll probably have to pay business rates if you use a building, part of a building or land for non-domestic purposes.

You can check if your property is eligible for a business rates reduction.

Who does not have to pay

Some properties are exempt from business rates.

You may not have to pay business rates on:

  • agricultural land and buildings, including fish farms – unless parts of the property are used for non-agricultural purposes
  • buildings used for the training and welfare of disabled people
  • buildings registered for public religious worship or church halls – unless parts of the buildings are not being used for religious worship

You can apply for temporary relief on your business rates if your property is empty or partly empty.

  • is empty
  • is partly empty

If you have another type of business or property, you can check if you’re eligible for a business rates reduction.

If your property is being built

You must pay business rates from the ‘completion date’ of your property.

We will send you a completion notice to tell you the date you must start paying business rates when:

  • your property is complete
  • we think it will be completed within three months

Appealing a completion notice

If you think the completion date is wrong, contact us. If we agree, we will send you a new notice.

If we cannot agree on a date, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS).

You must make the appeal within four weeks of receiving the completion notice.

If you’ve received a bill and you think you’re exempt

You should contact us so we can check if you’ve been incorrectly sent a bill.

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