The Council works out the Business Rate bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier.
There are two multipliers: the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the small business non-domestic rating multiplier.
The former is higher to pay for Small Business Rate Relief.
The national non-domestic multiplier is 51.2p and the small business non-domestic multiplier is 49.9p.
The rateable value of your property broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date.
For the revaluation that came into effect on 1 April 2023, this date was set at 1 April 2021.
Business Rates Instalments
Payment of Business Rates bills is automatically set on a 10-monthly cycle.
However, the Government has put in place regulations that allow businesses to require their council to enable payments to be made through 12 monthly instalments.
If you wish to take up this offer, you should contact Oldham Council’s Business Rates Department as soon as possible.
Appeal Business Rates
The ratepayer (and certain others who have an interest in the property) can appeal against the rateable value of a property.
Full details of your right of appeal are available from the Valuation Office Agency.
- Business Rates appeals – GOV.UK website
You do not have the right to withhold payment pending an appeal.
Revaluation
All rateable values are reassessed at a general revaluation.
The next revaluation comes into effect on 1 April 2023, based on rateable values from 1 April 2021. Revaluations make sure each ratepayer pays their fair contribution and no more, by ensuring that the share of the national rates bill paid by any one ratepayer reflects changes over time in the value of their property relative to others.
More details about the latest revaluation can be found at:
- Business Rates revaluation – GOV.UK website
Transitional Arrangement Scheme
At each revaluation, a transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of the business rates revaluation.
This means changes to your bill are phased in gradually if you’re eligible. From the 2023 to 2024 tax year, you’ll get transitional relief if your:
- property is in England rates go up by more than a certain amount
How much your bill can change by from one year to the next depends on both your property’s rateable value and whether your bill is increasing or decreasing as a result of the revaluation.
You will stop getting transitional relief when your bill reaches the full amount payable set by a revaluation. Changes to your bill as a result of other reasons (such as changes to the amount of small business rate relief) are not covered by the transitional arrangements.
The transitional arrangements are applied automatically and are shown on the front of your bill.
More details about the latest transitional relief scheme can be found at:
- Introduction to Business Rates – GOV.UK website