Following the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement 2022, there have been a series of important changes that will affect business rates liability from 1st April 2023 onwards, which we summarise below:
Draft Rating List Published
- The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has published your Draft Rateable Value for the forthcoming 2023 Rating List for properties in England & Wales.
- These values will dictate your rates liability for the next three financial years (01/04/2023 to 31/03/2026).
- Find your New Rateable Value here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/business-rates-find/search or google: “find a business rates valuation”.
- Your new Rateable Value should reflect your property’s hypothetical rental value as of 1st April 2021 (aka the antecedent valuation date).
Winners and Losers
- The VOA has released summary data confirming the changes in Rateable Value as a result of the 2023 Rating Revaluation.
- The total Rateable Value of England & Wales has increased to £70.3 billion from £65.7 billion in the previous 2017 Rating List.
- By Sector: Overall Retail is down -10%, which appears conservative and may result in a surge of appeals;
- Offices have increased by +10% in England and +5% in Wales;
- Industrials have witnessed the most significant increase, which is not unexpected, rising +28% in England and +12% in Wales.
- Figures for Scotland will be published by December.
Autumn Statement: Announcements with effect from April 2023
- Freezing the multiplier in England for 2022/24; 49.9p (small business multiplier) and 51.2p (standard multiplier). A “Small Business” will have a Rateable Value below £51,000.
- Upwards Transitional Relief Only – This will cap large increases in rates liability due to the 2023 Rating Revaluation. Downwards caps, which limit the effect of a large decrease in liability as a result of a Rating Revaluation have been scrapped, which is good news for ratepayers expecting a reduction in Rateable Value.
- The ‘upward caps’ will be as follows:
| Upwards Caps | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
| Small (RV up to £20k or £28k in London) | 5% | 10% | 25% |
| Medium (RV between £20k to £100k) | 15% | 25% | 40% |
| Large (RV greater than £100k) | 30% | 40% | 55% |
- Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Relief – Eligible properties will receive 75% relief from rates up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
- Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) – There was no announcement altering the thresholds for SBRR, which are currently: zero rates payable for properties with an RV less than £12,000 and tapered between £12,001 and £15,000. Should a property no longer be eligible for SBRR as a result of the 2023 Rating Revaluation, the new increased liability will be capped at £600 per year from 1st April 2023.
Appeals Deadline
- The deadline for serving appeals against the existing Rateable Values is 31st March 2023.
- Appeals served after this date will be invalid and ineligible for a backdated rates rebate to 1st April 2017.
- Please contact us to ensure all your properties have been reviewed and protective appeals have been served before the deadline so your financial interest is protected.
- We will need your current annual passing rent in order to serve an appeal.
