Business rates - reliefs, reductions and exemptions

If you're small business, charity or sports clubs, or meet other criteria, you can apply for business rate relief or reduction. Before you can apply for any reliefs/reductions, you must already be registered for Business Rates. You can find your account number, required for the application forms, on your most recent demand notice.

Rating Advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about their rateable value or their rates bill. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct designed to protect the public from misconduct.

Before you employ rating adviser or company you should check that they have the necessary knowledge and expertise, as well as appropriate indemnity insurance. Take great care and, if necessary, seek further advice before entering into any contract.

We will always try to inform you when any change in legislation impacts on the reliefs and exemptions that are available to your business. This is  free service so please contact us for advice before paying for the services of Business Rates Consultant.

Small Business Rates Relief

You can get small business rate relief if:

• your property's rateable value is less than £15,000
• your business only uses one property - you may still be able to get relief on your main business property if you use more than one premises.

You will not pay business rates on property with rateable value of £12,000 or less.

For properties with rateable value of £12,001 to £15,000, the rate of relief will go down gradually from 100% to 0%.

2025-2026

Small Business Rates relief 2025/2026 (PDF, 347KB)

2026-2027

Small Business Rate Relief - Retail Hospitality and Leisure 2026-2027 (PDF, 277KB)

Small Business Rate Relief - Non Domestic 2026-2027 (PDF, 278KB)

Find your rateable value - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

When you get a second property, you will keep getting the relief on only your original property for 12 months.

As detailed in the budget, small businesses that take on an additional unit can now claim a 3-year extension of SBRE on their original property from 27th November 2025. This extension is part of the government's measures to support businesses facing increased rates due to the 2026 revaluation.

You can still get small business rate relief on only your original property after this, if both the following apply:

• none of your other properties have rateable value above £2,899
• the total rateable value of all your properties is less than £20,000 (£28,000 in London)

The small business multiplier is 49.9 and the standard multiplier is 55.5 from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Find and check your business rates valuation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Small business rate relief - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How to apply

Complete the online form:

Apply for Small Business Rates Relief

Charitable Rate Relief

There are two types of charitable rate relief - mandatory and discretionary. You can get up to 80% relief for mandatory and up to 100% relief for discretionary.

You can apply if you meet any of the following:

Mandatory

• property that is in use by charity or trustees for charity and is used for charitable purposes
• amateur community sports clubs can apply for relief if property is used for charitable purposes
• an empty property where the ratepayer is charity or trustee for charity and the property will be used for charitable purposes when next used will receive 100% relief.

Discretionary

• the ratepayer is charity or trustees for charity and the property will mainly be used for charitable purposes in the future
• all or part of the property is in use for charitable purposes for one or more non-profit organisations
• all or part of the property is occupied for the purpose of non-profit club, society, or other organisation
• the services provided by the registered charity / amateur sports club are directly for the benefit of taxpayers in the borough

Email business rates to:

• check if you are eligible
• find out if you can receive top up on the discount to 100%  

If you're not eligible for Charitable Rate Relief you may still be able to get Discretionary Relief if you are non-profit or voluntary organisation.

Discretionary Rate Relief

If you're applying for Charitable Rate Relief, you may be eligible for Discretionary Rate Relief which can top up the discount by an extra 20%.

The Discretionary rate relief policy is currently under review and is due to be formally scrutinised and adopted after formal decision making processes, which are due to take place in December. The draft policy below is for reference to enable applications to be made. 

• Discretionary Relief Policy 2024/25 (PDF, 672KB)

Apply for Discretionary Rate Relief

Appeal form for discretionary relief charities

Discretionary Rate Relief Change of Circumstances Form

Rural Rate Relief

You could get Rural Rate Relief if your business is in rural area with population below 3,000. To see if you are in an eligible parish use this Map (PDF, 1.13MB)

You will not pay business rates if your business is in an eligible area and either:

• the only village shop or post office, with rateable value of up to £8,500
• the only public house or petrol station, with rateable value of up to £12,500

This will be applied automatically. 

Partly Occupied Relief (Section 44)

Section 44 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 gives Folkestone & Hythe District Council discretion to award discount for partially occupied properties, providing the situation only exists for short period of time.

The situation must be happening at the present time, so retrospective claims cannot be considered.

This is discretionary power, and we must be satisfied that the property is part occupied before requesting certificate of apportionment from the Valuation Office Agency.  If the award is agreed, the Valuation Office gives breakdown of the rateable value for the occupied and unoccupied parts of the property, and Folkestone & Hythe District Council will award either the three month, or for industrial properties six month, exemption to the occupied part only.

In order to apply for S44a relief, the ratepayer must put request in writing to us including plan of the property clearly marking the areas that are occupied and unoccupied. plan will also be required to show how it is intended to bring the unoccupied part back into use and within what timescale.

visit will then be arranged to view the premises and confirm the details of the plan. If the relief is agreed upon, then request will be sent to the Valuation Office Agency for certificate. Once this is received and processed, an amended bill will be sent to the ratepayer reflecting the relief granted.

The relief will end at the expiry the 'short period', depending upon the circumstances of the case, or at the end of the financial year if that is sooner.

Email business rates to apply or find out more visit Part 2: other certificates - Rating Manual section 5: certificates issued by the VOA - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Exempted Properties

Some properties are exempt from paying business rates.

You may not have to pay business rates on:

• agricultural land and buildings
• buildings used for training or welfare of disabled people
• buildings registered for religious worship or church halls

Empty properties

Properties that are empty are generally exempt from paying business rates for the first three months. If someone becomes legally responsible for the building within this three month period they will only benefit from the exemption until the three months have passed.

The empty rate exemption will be applied for the first three months that the property is empty. If someone purchases the property after three months, and it is still empty, they will not receive this discount.

Some properties can get this extended after the three months:

• industrial premises (for example, warehouses) are exempt for further three months
• listed buildings as long as they are empty
• buildings with rateable value under £2,900 as long as they're empty
• charity or community amateur sports clubs building as long as they're empty and will next be used for the purposes of the charity/CASC

If you're awarded relief or exemption, we will send you a new bill with the relief or reduction applied.

Visit GOV.UK to find out more.

Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure (RHL)

The Chancellor has introduced new multipliers which have been used to calculate business rates bills for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) businesses.

These changes mean that RHL properties will benefit from permanently lower multipliers instead of temporary relief schemes. The high value multiplier will help fund lower rates for smaller businesses.

The non-domestic rating (business rates) multipliers for 2026/27 will be as follows:

All qualifying properties in a chain will benefit from the lower multipliers.

Hereditaments that are unoccupied will revert to the national multipliers after Empty Property Relief ends, even if they are intended to next be used for RHL purposes.

The RHL multipliers are intended to only benefit hereditaments that are used to provide in-person RHL. The definition can therefore only be met if a hereditament is wholly or mainly used for providing RHL activity to ‘visiting members of the public’ (see link below for examples of qualifying hereditaments): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.

If you believe your business meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multiplier and is not currently, please complete the form on our website specifying the use.

Transitional relief scheme & supporting small businesses relief scheme

The Chancellor also announced a transitional relief scheme, a transitional relief supplement for 2026/27 and a supporting small business relief scheme (SSBR). The transitional relief scheme will support ratepayers facing large bill increases at the revaluation by phasing in the higher charge over a maximum of three years.

A 1p supplement will be added to the relevant multiplier rate for ratepayers who do not receive transitional relief or the supporting small business scheme to partially fund the transitional relief scheme. This will apply for one year only from 1 April 2026.

The expanded supporting small business scheme will cap the bill increases seen by ratepayers losing small business rate relief, 2025/26 RHL relief, or rural rate relief because of the 2026 revaluation. The annual increase will be capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026.

Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief 2026-2027

In 2026-27, all pubs and live music venues will benefit from a 15% business rates relief on top of the support announced at Budget 2025. Their bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

Eligibility

Pubs

Live music venues

If you believe you meet the criteria and have not been awarded the 15% relief, please contact the team on: 01303 853223 or email: business.rates@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk.

For full guidance please visit:

Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief - GOV.UK