Business rates: Transitional relief advice - The Rating Advisory Bureau

Transitional arrangements

Business Rates Revaluation 2010

RAB can help you through the complex maze that is Transitional Relief and ensure that your Business Rates bill is correct.

Rateable values are reassessed every five years.

“The purpose of the revaluation is not to raise extra revenue overall but to ensure rateable values are based upon up-to-date rental values.” Therefore rateable values - and rates bills - for some properties may rise or fall.

Following the 2010 revaluation, special transitional arrangements were put in place in ENGLAND to phase in significant increases or decreases in rates bills over the next five years. These set limits on the percentage by which your rates liability can change each year.

The transitional arrangements mean that rates bills for businesses operating from small properties won't rise as steeply as they would do otherwise (small properties are defined as those properties with rateable values below £25,500 in Greater London or £18,000 elsewhere).

The set limits on the percentage by which your rates liability can increase each year, prior to inflation but before any other relief such as small business rate relief

Year	Small property	Large property
2010-11	5%	12.5%
2011-12	7.5%	17.5%
2012-13	10%	20%
2013-14	15%	25%
2014-15	15%	25%

The set limits on the percentage by which your rates liability can decrease each year, prior to inflation but before any other relief such as small business rate relief

Year	Small property	Large property
2010-11	20%	4.6%
2011-12	30%	6.7%
2012-13	35%	7%
2013-14	55%	13%
2014-15	55%	13%

The transitional arrangements do not cover increases from inflation or changes in the rateable value because of changes to the property, eg an extension.

They also do not cover changes in other forms of relief, such as small business rate relief, which is reflected in full. Therefore your bill after any other reliefs have been calculated may change by more or less than the above percentages.

Any transitional relief you are entitled to is calculated by your local authority and included in your rates bill.

There is no transitional relief in Wales and Scotland.

The Rating Advisory Bureau (RAB) can help with the whole process of appealing, contact RAB today to see how we can increase your profitability.

Tel: 01242 542 783 · Email: enquiries@ratingsab.co.uk

There are many reasons why business rates can be reduced;

• Mergers
• Splits
• Incorrect initial valuation
• Empty property relief
• Nearby road works
• Fragmentation of property
• Poor access to the property
• Fire and flood
• Unheated properties
• Property alterations

Business Rates advice

“I wish to express my thanks and gratitude [to RAB] to achieve not only a reduction in our rateable value going forward but also to secure a rebate for rates going back to 2005 – a fantastic result, amounting to excess of £3k.”

S Chick, Director
Delta Plastic Supplies

The RAB team are here to advise and help with you with your business rates enquiries.

> Contact the RAB team