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Charges and how to pay

Pay your business rates

You can:

24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We accept most major debit and credit cards.

The easiest, quickest, safest way to make payment on a regular basis is by direct debit.

If you choose to pay by direct debit you can choose you payment dates and periods.

Direct debit

Other ways to pay are available on our payments page.

Standing order and bank transfers

To pay this way you will need your payment reference number.

You can find this on your business rates bill or e-bill notification.

The Council’s bank details are:

  • sort code: 30-84-43
  • account number: 34640868

Other ways to pay are available on our payments page.

NNDR explanatory notes

We are no longer required to issue paper explanatory notes.

We used to issue these with non-domestic rates bills.

You can see the information contained in the explanatory notes here.

Non-domestic rates explanatory notes [pdf document].

Business rates multiplier

We work out a rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the multiplier or 'poundage'. The Government sets this from 1 April each year for the whole of England.

The Government usually changes this every year in line with inflation.

For more information see the .gov business rates page [external link]

Multipliers for 2023/2024

  • The standard multiplier is 51.2p.
  • The lower multiplier is 49.9p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2022/2023

  • The standard multiplier is 51.2p.
  • The lower multiplier is 49.9p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2021/2022

  • The standard multiplier is 51.2p.
  • The lower multiplier is 49.9p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2020/2021

  • The standard multiplier is 51.2p.
  • The lower multiplier is 49.9p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2019/2020

  • The standard multiplier is 50.4p.
  • The lower multiplier is 49.1p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2018/2019

  • The standard multiplier is 49.3p.
  • The lower multiplier is 48.0p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Multipliers for 2017/2018

  • The standard multiplier is 47.9p.
  • The lower multiplier is 46.6p for businesses that qualify for small business rate relief.

Rateable value

All relevant non-domestic property has a rateable value.

This is usually set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). This is an agency of Her Majesty's Revenues & Customs.

The rateable value represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market, on a particular date.

The valuation officer must maintain the list of values. They may alter the value if the circumstances of the property have changed.

The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can also appeal against the value if they believe it is wrong.

Check the rateable value of your property [external link]

Transitional arrangements

Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year because of revaluation [external link].

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 more than a certain amount,

We will adjust your bill automatically if you’re eligible.

How much your bill can change by from one year to the next depends on both:

  • your property’s rateable value,
  • whether your bill is increasing because of revaluation,

You stop getting transitional relief when your bill reaches the full amount set by a revaluation.

The business rates year is from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

View the changes to rateable value [external link].

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