Business rates relief

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Exempt properties

Certain properties are exempt from business rates.

You may not have to pay business rates on:

  • agricultural land and buildings used for agricultural purposes, including fish farms
  • buildings used for the training or welfare of disabled people
  • buildings registered for public religious worship or church halls

There are strict legal requirements for these exemptions. Contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to check if your property is exempt from business rates.

If you think your property should be exempt

You can report that you think your property should be exempt to the VOA using your business rates valuation account.

If the VOA decides your property is exempt, you will not need to pay business rates on the property again unless your business or premises change.

If your circumstances change

Report changes to make sure you’re paying the right amount and do not get a backdated increase in your bill or overpay.

Contact your local council if:

  • your property becomes empty

  • you get another property

  • you make any changes to your property that would increase its value - for example, extending or renovating it
  • the nature of your business changes or it moves to different premises

If the change means your property is not exempt any more, you’ll usually need to pay your new rate starting from the day your circumstances changed.

Check which changes in circumstance you need to report to the VOA.

If your property is not exempt from business rates

You may be eligible for another type of business rates relief.

For example, if you have a shop on your agricultural property, you may be eligible for:

You may also be eligible if:

Check what other reliefs you may be eligible for.

View a printable version of the whole guide

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