Business Rate relief
There are a number of business rate relief schemes available below.
If you feel you are eligible for any of these schemes, please complete the application form using the button below to apply.
Please note, it is not possible to apply online for Newspaper relief or relief for pubs.
Cornwall Council, is committed to protecting your privacy and any personal data you provide or we collect about you will be stored securely and only used for business rate purposes, in accordance with our Privacy Notice. We will not use your information for any other purpose or give it to anyone else unless we are required to do so by law. For example, we have a duty to protect public funds so we may need to use the information held about you for the prevention and detection of fraud which would require us to share it with other Council statutory services or organisations responsible for auditing or administering public funds.
Apply for Business Rates Relief
Small Business Rate Relief
If you occupy one business rate property you may be eligible for small business rate relief. This is dependant on the rateable value.
You may still qualify for small business rate relief if you occupy more than one property,
- but the total rateable value of all properties is less than £20,000,
- and the second or subsequent properties have rateable value(s) of less than £2900
Where more than one property is occupied, but the above criteria is met, relief will only be applied to the main property (the property with the largest rateable value).
|
Rateable Value (RV) of property |
Amount of small business rate relief |
|---|---|
|
Up to £12,000 (£5,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
100% relief |
|
£12,001 to £14,999 (£6,000 to £11,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
Relief is awarded on a sliding scale from 100% to 0%; 1% for every £30 of rateable value (Relief reducing on a sliding scale of 2% per £120 RV and a lower multiplier of 48.4p prior to 1 April 2017) |
|
Properties up to £51,000 (£12,000 to £17,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
Relief is awarded using the small business multiplier. |
Eligibility
You do not qualify if your property is empty.
If you receive small business rate relief, you must notify us of these changes in circumstances:
- the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and
- an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
Retaining small business rates relief when taking on an additional property
Ratepayers receiving Small Business Rate Relief that take on an additional property which would currently disqualify them from receiving relief, will continue to receive their existing relief for 12 months.
For example, if you occupy another property with a rateable value of £2,899 (£2600 prior to 1 April 2017) or above, or occupy another property with a rateable value below £2,899 (£2600 prior to 1 April 2017) but the combined rateable value total is above £19,999.
Expanded Retail Discount 2020/21 and 2021/22: Coronavirus Response
Further information on Retail Discount in respect of the Coronavirus
Local Newspapers
The government introduced a £1,500 discount for office space occupied by local newspapers.
- Up to a maximum of one discount per local newspaper title and per hereditament (business premises), and
- up to state aid limits, for 3 years until 2024
If you wish to apply for this relief please contact our Revenues team to request an application form as this is not available online.
Nursery relief 2020/21 and 2021/22
For 2020/21, 100% relief applies to business properties occupied by providers on Ofsted's Early Years register and wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which are subject to business rates in the year 2020/21. There is no rateable value limit on the relief.
Nursery discount is extended for 3 months at 100% uncapped for the period of 1st April 2021 to 30th June 2021.
From 1st July 2021 to 31st March 2022 the Nursery Discount applies at 66% relief for eligible properties, with a cash cap of £105,000.
Supporting small businesses
This is a five-year scheme to help small businesses that:
- prior to the 2017 revaluation, qualified for small business rate relief or rural rate relief,
- but due to the 2017 revaluation their rateable value means that they no longer qualify.
The levels of reduction reduce over the lifetime of the scheme as follows:
The increase per year is limited to the greater of:
A. A percentage increase of 5%, 7.5%, 15% and 15% 2017/18 to 2021/22 all plus inflation, or
B. A cash value of £600 per year
Qualifying ratepayers were issued with amended bills for 2017/18 during August 2017. This award is subject to the usual state aid limitations.
Reductions for future years will also be calculated and granted automatically, and qualifying ratepayers will see the reduction shown on the subsequent year's bills.
Rural settlement relief
The following properties are eligible to receive 100% rural rate relief from 1 April 2017.
|
Description |
Sole Post Office |
Sole general store |
Food Shop |
Sole pub |
Sole petrol Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rateable value | Less than £8,500 | Less than £8,500 | Less than £8,500 | Less than £12,500 | Less than £12,500 |
We have the discretion to give rate relief of up to 100% on any other business in a rural village with a rateable value of less than £16,500, if it is satisfied that the business is of benefit to the community, whilst having regard to the interests of all its council tax payers
We maintain a list of rural settlements areas, which is reviewed on an annual basis. The current lists of areas effective since 1 April 2016 are shown in the rural boundaries document.
The relief given is subject to state aid de minimis levels in the normal way.
Mandatory Relief
Registered charities or trustees for a charity are entitled to 80% rate relief on a property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes.
Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)
A registered Community Amateur Sports Club is entitled to 80% Mandatory rate relief.
To qualify as a CASC a sports club must:
- Be open to the whole community
- Be run as an amateur club
- Be a non-profit making organisation
- Aim to provide facilities for and encourage people to take part in eligible sports.
In order to be entitled to this relief the organisation must be registered as a CASC through the HM Revenues and Customs website by calling the Inland Revenue Sports Club Unit on 0131 777 4147.
For more information regarding Community Amateur Sports Clubs please visit the HMRC's CASC webpage.
Discretionary Relief and Hardship relief
Please refer to our current discretionary rate relief guidelines for details of organisations that may be eligible to receive discretionary rate relief. Organisations may also be eligible for mandatory relief in addition to discretionary rate relief. The guidelines also give details on hardship relief.
There are a number of business rate relief schemes available below.
If you feel you are eligible for any of these schemes, please complete the application form using the button below to apply.
Continue readingPlease note, it is not possible to apply online for Newspaper relief or relief for pubs.
Cornwall Council, is committed to protecting your privacy and any personal data you provide or we collect about you will be stored securely and only used for business rate purposes, in accordance with our Privacy Notice. We will not use your information for any other purpose or give it to anyone else unless we are required to do so by law. For example, we have a duty to protect public funds so we may need to use the information held about you for the prevention and detection of fraud which would require us to share it with other Council statutory services or organisations responsible for auditing or administering public funds.
If you occupy one business rate property you may be eligible for small business rate relief. This is dependant on the rateable value.
You may still qualify for small business rate relief if you occupy more than one property,
- but the total rateable value of all properties is less than £20,000,
- and the second or subsequent properties have rateable value(s) of less than £2900
Where more than one property is occupied, but the above criteria is met, relief will only be applied to the main property (the property with the largest rateable value).
|
Rateable Value (RV) of property |
Amount of small business rate relief |
|---|---|
|
Up to £12,000 (£5,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
100% relief |
|
£12,001 to £14,999 (£6,000 to £11,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
Relief is awarded on a sliding scale from 100% to 0%; 1% for every £30 of rateable value (Relief reducing on a sliding scale of 2% per £120 RV and a lower multiplier of 48.4p prior to 1 April 2017) |
|
Properties up to £51,000 (£12,000 to £17,999 prior to 1 April 2017) |
Relief is awarded using the small business multiplier. |
Eligibility
You do not qualify if your property is empty.
If you receive small business rate relief, you must notify us of these changes in circumstances:
- the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and
- an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
Retaining small business rates relief when taking on an additional property
Ratepayers receiving Small Business Rate Relief that take on an additional property which would currently disqualify them from receiving relief, will continue to receive their existing relief for 12 months.
For example, if you occupy another property with a rateable value of £2,899 (£2600 prior to 1 April 2017) or above, or occupy another property with a rateable value below £2,899 (£2600 prior to 1 April 2017) but the combined rateable value total is above £19,999.
The government introduced a £1,500 discount for office space occupied by local newspapers.
- Up to a maximum of one discount per local newspaper title and per hereditament (business premises), and
- up to state aid limits, for 3 years until 2024
If you wish to apply for this relief please contact our Revenues team to request an application form as this is not available online.
For 2020/21, 100% relief applies to business properties occupied by providers on Ofsted's Early Years register and wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which are subject to business rates in the year 2020/21. There is no rateable value limit on the relief.
Nursery discount is extended for 3 months at 100% uncapped for the period of 1st April 2021 to 30th June 2021.
From 1st July 2021 to 31st March 2022 the Nursery Discount applies at 66% relief for eligible properties, with a cash cap of £105,000.
This is a five-year scheme to help small businesses that:
- prior to the 2017 revaluation, qualified for small business rate relief or rural rate relief,
- but due to the 2017 revaluation their rateable value means that they no longer qualify.
The levels of reduction reduce over the lifetime of the scheme as follows:
The increase per year is limited to the greater of:
A. A percentage increase of 5%, 7.5%, 15% and 15% 2017/18 to 2021/22 all plus inflation, or
B. A cash value of £600 per year
Qualifying ratepayers were issued with amended bills for 2017/18 during August 2017. This award is subject to the usual state aid limitations.
Reductions for future years will also be calculated and granted automatically, and qualifying ratepayers will see the reduction shown on the subsequent year's bills.
The following properties are eligible to receive 100% rural rate relief from 1 April 2017.
|
Description |
Sole Post Office |
Sole general store |
Food Shop |
Sole pub |
Sole petrol Station |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rateable value | Less than £8,500 | Less than £8,500 | Less than £8,500 | Less than £12,500 | Less than £12,500 |
We have the discretion to give rate relief of up to 100% on any other business in a rural village with a rateable value of less than £16,500, if it is satisfied that the business is of benefit to the community, whilst having regard to the interests of all its council tax payers
We maintain a list of rural settlements areas, which is reviewed on an annual basis. The current lists of areas effective since 1 April 2016 are shown in the rural boundaries document.
The relief given is subject to state aid de minimis levels in the normal way.
Registered charities or trustees for a charity are entitled to 80% rate relief on a property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes.
Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC)
A registered Community Amateur Sports Club is entitled to 80% Mandatory rate relief.
To qualify as a CASC a sports club must:
- Be open to the whole community
- Be run as an amateur club
- Be a non-profit making organisation
- Aim to provide facilities for and encourage people to take part in eligible sports.
In order to be entitled to this relief the organisation must be registered as a CASC through the HM Revenues and Customs website by calling the Inland Revenue Sports Club Unit on 0131 777 4147.
For more information regarding Community Amateur Sports Clubs please visit the HMRC's CASC webpage.
Please refer to our current discretionary rate relief guidelines for details of organisations that may be eligible to receive discretionary rate relief. Organisations may also be eligible for mandatory relief in addition to discretionary rate relief. The guidelines also give details on hardship relief.