All you need to know about business rates payable, rateable value, multipliers and the impact for your start-up.
How you estimate your business rates depends on where your property is.
- In England or Wales you can find the rateable value of your business. This is an estimate of its open market rental value on 1 April 2015.
- Check the table to find out which ‘multiplier’ to use. Use the standard multiplier if your rateable value is £51,000 or more. Use the small business multiplier if your rateable value is below £51,000.
- Multiply your rateable value by your multiplier. This shows you how much you will have to pay in business rates (before any relief is deducted).
- Take away any business rate relief that you’re entitled to. If your business rates are increasing as a result of the 2017 revaluation, this may include transitional relief so that changes to your bill are phased in gradually.
Year: 2018 to 2019
- Standard multiplier: 49.3p
- Small business multiplier: 48.0p
Year: 2017 to 2018
- Standard multiplier: 47.9p
- Small business multiplier: 46.6p
Year: 2016 to 2017
- Standard multiplier: 49.7p
- Small business multiplier: 48.4p
Before 2017 to 2018, use the small business multiplier if your rateable value is below £18,000 (£25,500 in Greater London).
There are different multipliers in Wales and the City of London.
Example 
Barbara has a business in England. The rateable value of her business is £10,000, so she uses the 2018 to 2019 small business multiplier (48.0p) to estimate her business rates as follows:
£10,000 (rateable value) x £0.48p (multiplier) = £4,800 (basic business rates)
As her rateable value is less than £15,000, she may be able to reduce her bill by applying for small business rate relief.
Source: GOV.UK
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
