Business rates

Apart from properties that are exempt from business rates, each non-domestic property has a rateable value set by the valuation office agency of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). 

• The Valuation Office Agency draw up and maintain a full list of all rateable values. Details can be found on their website.

We calculate the business rate bill by multiplying the rateable value of a property, by the appropriate multiplier. There are two of these, the standard non-domestic and the small business non-domestic rating multipliers. The former is higher and pays for small business relief.

The government sets the multiplier for the financial year for England. Between revaluations, the multipliers change with inflation and take into account small business relief. 

The multipliers for the 2020-21 financial year are as follows:

• standard non-domestic rating multiplier = 51.2p
• small business non-domestic rating multiplier = 49.9p

The multipliers for the 2019-20 financial year were as follows:

• standard non-domestic rating multiplier = 50.40p
• small business non-domestic rating multiplier = 49.10p

Further statutory information relating to business rates is available in the following section. 
 

The following documents include information relating to the income and expenditure of the council and general information about business rates: 

• Northumberland County Council financial statement 2020-21
• Northumberland County Council financial statement 2019-20
• Northumberland County Council financial statement 2018-19

 

• National non domestic rates explanatory notes 2020-21
• National non domestic rates explanatory notes 2019-20
• National non domestic rates explanatory notes 2018-19

Termination of Hexham Business Improvement District (BID) Arrangements

On the 13th August 2018, Northumberland County Council (NCC) received notification from the Board of Hexham BID Limited, of their request to formally terminate the BID Arrangements.  This was in the form of 28 days’ notice, as required by the BID Regulations.

We consider that all necessary consultation has taken place to enable us to accept the principle of termination of the BID Arrangements.  The notice period ended on the 10th September 2018.

Council Officers, taking such professional advice as required, will now ensure that Northumberland County Council fulfils its obligations under the BID Regulations.  This will include communication to levy payers, particularly in relation to any refund due.  The Board of Hexham BID has assured us that they will also carry out their duties and responsibilities in accordance with Company Law.

Any assessment as to refunds that may be due will need to be made once:

• BID Company accounts are finalised

• The Company has ceased to trade and been wound-up to the satisfaction of the Council

• The BID Revenue Account can be finally reconciled with all levy funds due to (or back to) it have been accounted for.

Once the above are completed, we will be in touch to inform how any refund process will be conducted. 
 

• Pay your BID levy online

 

Paying via direct debit is an efficient, convenient and safer way to pay. Direct debit payments are automatically collected from your bank or building society. Any payments made via direct debit are also protected by the direct debit guarantee. You can cancel a direct debit at any time by contacting your bank or building society.

If you haven’t already, you can now set up a direct debit online by clicking this link. In order to set up a direct debit instruction, you will need to provide your bank details, including the branch name and address, as well as your business rates account number.

You can also set up a direct debit via the telephone by ringing our contact centre on 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate) between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Thursday and 8.30am and 4.30pm on Friday,  You will need your business rates account number and bank details.  

The direct debit guarantee

• This guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits
• If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit, Northumberland County Council will notify you 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Northumberland County Council to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.
• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by Northumberland County Council or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Northumberland County Council asks you to.                      
• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify us.

• Click here to pay your business rates bill online.

Payment can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To pay you will need your business rates account number, and your debit/credit card details.

You can call our automated service 24 hours per day, seven days a week, by ringing on 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate). You will need your business rates account number and debit/credit card details.  

Cheques and postal orders made payable to ‘Northumberland County Council’ can be sent via:

Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

All cheques must have the relevant business rates account number written on the back, and receipts are only issued on request. When paying by post, please take into account the time it will take for the payment to reach us and for the cheque to clear.

Post office or Paypoint outlet
To pay at any post office or Paypoint outlet, you must take your bill along so that the payment can be processed. You can either pay the amount of your monthly instalments, or the full amount due.

There are no fees for this service, but payments can take up to three working days to show on your business rate account.

• You can find details of your nearest Paypoint outlet here. 

Please pay your business rates promptly to avoid legal action. We will take legal action to recover money owed, if business rates are not paid on time.

If payment is not made after a reminder notice has been issued, the council can apply to the magistrates' court for the issue of a summons. If payment is still not made, the court can issue a liability order, which allows the council to enforce payment by either:

• asking an enforcement agent to collect the money or remove goods to the value of the debt
• issuing a petition for bankruptcy for individual ratepayers
• issuing a winding-up petition if the ratepayer is a company

If you are in financial difficulty
If you are having difficulty meeting your business rates payments, please contact us immediately as you may be entitled to one of a range of reliefs available. Do not wait for recovery action to begin.

For further advice and to find out if you are eligible to apply for any of those reliefs, please contact us. 

If you require any information or assistance in paying your business rates, please do not hesitate to contact us by any of the following means:

• Online
• Email
• Telephone

Alternatively, you can write to us at:

Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

There is a new business rates appeal process in England from 1 April 2017 known as check, challenge, appeal. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) deals with checks and challenges, while the independent Valuation Tribunal for England handles appeals.

If any of the factual details about your property or land are incorrect, you (the owner, occupier or authorised agent) need to let the VOA know. Doing this through the VOA’s online service is known as a check. You can only do this if you have the right to, as the owner, occupier or their authorised agent.

Check your Rateable Value here

You can also request a change to your valuation (which may affect your business rates bill), even if you don’t have any factual detail changes. This is called a challenge. If you do want to make a challenge, you will need to have completed a check first.

For more details on how to appeal your 2017 valuation please visit the Valuation Office Agency’s information page on How to check and challenge your rateable value
 

You may also still be able to appeal the valuation from 2010 in special situations. Further information regarding appeals on the 2010 list can be found at Appeal 2010 business rates
 

To appeal, you should put your details in writing to:

Check & Challenge Service
PO Box 1827
Shirley
SO15 9HH     

Telephone:    03000 501 501

Email:     ccaservice@voa.gov.uk


  

Some people employ rating agents to assist with rateable value appeals. While this is by no means a necessity, it is available. Professional advice is available from a variety of sources including the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or the Rating Surveyors Association.

Before you employ a rating advisor, ensure 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 a contract. Advice on employing a rating agent is available from the valuation office.

If you require any further information regarding the above, or need to inform us of any changes of circumstance, you can contact us by:

• Telephone: 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate)
• Email: businessrates@northumberland.gov.uk 
• Contacting this service online 

Alternatively you can write to us at:

Business Rates Section
Northumberland County Council
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL
 

To be exempt from paying business rates, your property must be one of the following:

• empty less than three months
• have a rateable value of less than £2,900 (with effect from 1 April 2017)
• empty less than six months if a qualifying industrial property
• an ancient monument
• a listed building
• one where occupation is prohibited by law
• kept empty by action of Crown or public authority
• the owner is bankrupt
• the owner is a trustee under a deed of arrangement
• the owner is entitled to possession as a liquidator
• the owner is entitled to possession only in his capacity as the personal representative of a deceased person
• the owner is a company in administration
• the owner is a company which is subject to a winding-up order

In cases where the ratepayer is a charity, trustees of a charity or a Community Amateur Sports club (CASC) the following may apply;
 

• where the ratepayer is a charity or trustees of a charity, they may be exempt from empty property rates provided there is evidence that when next in use it will be used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes.

• where the ratepayer is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC), they may be exempt from empty property rates provided there is evidence that when next in use it will be used wholly or mainly by a registered CASC.

To apply for a period of exemption, please provide us with the following information:

• date from when the property became empty
• address of property
• name, address and contact details of property owner

For further information, or if you need to inform us of a change in circumstance, please contact us by:

• Telephone: 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate).
• Email: businessrates@northumberland.gov.uk
• Using this service online

Alternatively you can write to us at:

Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

Certain types of property are not included in the rating list for non-domestic rates and therefore are not charged business rates. The list below shows some examples. Please contact us if you require further information or click here to visit gov.uk:

• agricultural land and buildings
• fish farms
• places of religious worship
• lighthouses, buoys and beacons
• properties of drainage authorities
• parks
• properties used by the disabled
• air raid protection works
• swinging moorings
• visiting forces headquarters
• properties in enterprise zones  

Contact details:

• Telephone: 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate).
• Email: businessrates@northumberland.gov.uk
• Using this service online

Alternatively you can write to us at;

Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

You can pay your bill free of charge at any post office or pay point outlet using the barcode on your bill. 

Your business rate bill was produced after the cash payments from 28 February 2020 were processed. If your payment was received after this date it will not be shown on your bill.

Your bill will state the method of payment. If it shows direct debit we will automatically collect your instalments.

If it states barcode, you will need to set up a direct debit.

To set up a direct debit online click here. 

We are currently working on a new facility for online billing. An email will be sent to everyone who had signed up to the old system asking them to sign up to the new portal  link. Further information regarding dates and marketing of the new product will be sent in due course.

However if you need any information from your account during this period, please call us on 0345 600 6400.

Please note that you can still click here to pay online.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
 
 

Business rates are a contribution made by businesses towards the cost of all services provided by the council. These services include street lighting, road maintenance and the police and fire service.

The money collected by Northumberland County Council is paid to the government, and we then receive a share of this back based on the local adult population in the area.

• The Northumberland County Council financial statement 2020-2021 contains further information.

The rates liability is initially calculated by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the ‘rate multiplier’. There are two rate multipliers for the 2020-21 financial year:

• The standard multiplier is 51.2p.
• The small business rate multiplier is 49.9p (for occupied properties with a rateable value of £50,999 or less).  

The multiplier is set by central government each year and is a rate in the pound, which every local authority must use to calculate a business rates bill.

The multiplier should normally change every year to move in line with inflation. By law, the multiplier cannot go up by more than the rate of inflation.

Rateable values are determined by the valuation office agency, part of HM Revenues and Customs. The rateable value of a business is generally based on the annual rental income for the property.

Certain types of rate assessments are valued differently, such as public houses and mines. For further details, please contact the valuation office, or call 03000 501 501.

Following a revaluation of rateable values, rate payers may be faced with a large increase or decrease in their bills. The transitional relief scheme allows increases/decreases in the rates bill to be phased over multiple years, limiting the impact on the ratepayer.

The relief will be deducted/added to the bill, depending on whether it is increasing/decreasing. The rates bill will increase or reduce by a fixed percentage, plus inflation, annually. The percentages are set by central government.

• For further details please contact us.

To appeal, you should put your details in writing to:

Check & Challenge Service
PO Box 1827
Shirley
SO15 9HH     

Telephone:    03000 501 501

Email:     ccaservice@voa.gov.uk

Businesses should continue to pay as billed, if the rateable value is reduced an adjusted bill will be sent to you and if there is an overpayment this will be refunded.

 

Yes, as business rates are payable based on the current entry in the rating list. If the rateable value of a property is reduced, any overpayment made will be refunded, together with any interest that may be due.

The council cannot lawfully change the rateable value without being advised of the new one in writing by the valuation office agency.

No, there is a separate charge for commercial refuse collection. You should contact the council and make separate arrangements for your waste collection.

• Click here for further information on commercial refuse collection.

There is no rates payable for the first three months a property is empty, or six months in the case of industrial properties.

If a property is still empty at the end of these periods, then business rates will be charged at 100% of the basic occupied business rates. There are some properties exempt from unoccupied property rates liability.

• For further details, please click here.

There are some properties that are exempt from empty property rates. This happens when:

• The commercial property has been empty less than three months.
• The industrial unit has been empty less than six months.
• The property has a rateable value of less than £2,900.
• The property is a listed building.
• The owner is prohibited by law from occupying the property.
• The owner/ratepayer is a company in administration.
• The owner/ratepayer has been declared bankrupt.
• The owner is prohibited by action taken by the Crown, or any public or local authority from occupying the premises.
• The owner is entitled to possession only in their capacity as the personal representative of a deceased person.
• The owner is a company subject to a winding up order.
• The owner is entitled to possession of the property in his capacity as liquidator under s112 or s145 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
• The property is owned by a charity or a community amateur sports club and will be used for the purposes of that organisation when next in use.

 

Small business rate relief is available to ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value of less than £15,000.

For ratepayers who occupy properties with a rateable value of £50,999 or less, they will have their rates bill calculated using the small business rate relief multiplier.

Small business rate relief is not available if the property is unoccupied. 

• For further details, please click here.

To enable the council to determine whether a ratepayer is eligible, an application form must be completed, signed and returned to:

Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

For the criteria on eligibility and the level of relief available please view the small business rate relief section.

The ratepayer must always notify the council of changes in circumstances, such as, if they occupy any additional properties, or if the rateable value of any of their properties increases.

The government has introduced additional support to small businesses. For those businesses that take on an additional property from 14 February 2014, which would have previously meant the loss of small business rate relief, the government has confirmed they will be allowed to keep that relief for a period of 12 months. For further information,contact us.

From 1 April 2017, the Small Business Rate Relief will permanently double to 100%. The thresholds for relief have also been increased following the 2017 Revaluation.

• For those with a rateable value of £12,000 or less, relief will be awarded at 100%
• For those with a rateable value between £12,001 and £14,999, relief will be awarded on a sliding scale from between 100% and 0%.
• If the rateable value is between £15,000 and £50,999, no relief can be awarded, however as with all properties with a rateable value of £50,999 or less, the small business multiplier is used to calculate the charge.

Level of relief 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2017

The level of relief for the period from 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2017 was doubled, and so those with rateable values of £6,000 or less receive 100% relief.

For properties with a rateable value above £6,000, but not more than £12,000 the level of relief is reduced by 1% for every £120 of rateable value above £6,000, but not more than £12,000..

If the rateable value is between £12,000 and £17,999 no percentage relief can be awarded. As with all properties with a rateable value of £17,999 or less, the small business multiplier is used to calculate the charge.

 

If a property is occupied by a registered charity, or is exempt from charitable status, the organisation can apply for 80% mandatory relief from their business rates bill. The criterion is that the property is mainly used for charitable purposes.

Charity shops may receive mandatory relief, but only if they sell mostly donated goods. Properties occupied by a charity or trustee thereof and mainly used for charitable purposes can also be considered for up to an additional 20% of relief.

This relief is awarded at the discretion of the council and a discretionary rate relief form must be completed.

Where a club is registered with HM Revenues and Customs as a community amateur sports club, they will qualify for 80% mandatory relief from their business rates bill.

There is a further 20% available to be awarded at the discretion of the council. To apply, a discretionary relief form must be completed.

Where a property is occupied by one or more organisations who are not established or conducted for profit and whose aims are charitable or philanthropic, an award of up to 100% relief can be made at the discretion of the council.

This also applies to those concerned with the promotion of social welfare, education, science, literature or fine arts. To apply, a discretionary rate relief form must be completed.

The liability to pay business rates rests with the occupier of the property, irrespective of any agreements with a landlord. 

Business rates are payable to the council, and if the account is not kept up to date, action will be taken against the ratepayer who is ultimately liable, not the landlord.

If there are third party agreements with a landlord, then ratepayers should discuss this with their landlord.

A number of factors determine whether or not a space in a home used as an office will be liable for business rates. These include the extent and frequency of business use of the room and any modifications made to the property as a result.

• For further details on how your rateable value is calculated, please contact the valuation office.

If ratepayers fail to meet instalments on their bill, a reminder is issued. Failure to bring the payment up to date will result in the right to pay by instalments being withdrawn. The remaining balance for the year must then be paid in full, to avoid a court summons being issued that may incur costs that are added to the ratepayer's account.

A liability order will be requested at the magistrates’ court and further costs will be added to the account. If an arrangement is not made or payment is not received, the council will then pass the debt on to an enforcement agent for collection, resulting in further costs and a potential repossession of goods.

If you pay by direct debit you can go online and choose the option to pay over 12 months or you can telephone 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate).

You can pay weekly as long as you are in advance of the amount due under your monthly instalments.

You should aim to have each instalment paid by the 7th of each month to avoid a reminder being issued. 

• Direct debit mandate
• Discretionary rate relief application form
• Discretionary rate relief guidance notes
• Hardship relief application form
• Hardship relief guidance notes
• Mandatory relief application form
• Rural discretionary rate relief application form
• Rural rate relief guidance notes 
• Small business rate relief guidance notes and application form

Contact us:
Northumberland County Council
Business Rate Section
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL

For further information, or if you need to inform us of a change in circumstance, please contact us by:

• Telephone: 0345 600 6400 (charged at your local rate)
• Email: businessrates@northumberland.gov.uk
• Using this service online

You may be entitled to one of the business rates reliefs or exemptions, which could reduce your bill. Please see our business rates reliefs page and exemptions page for more information.

Failure to pay an instalment on time will result in Northumberland County Council taking action to recover any outstanding business rates.

First reminder
If you fail to pay an instalment, you will receive a first reminder notice requesting that payments are brought up to date.

Court summons
Failure to pay after your first reminder will result in the council seeking a liability order through the magistrates’ court. We will issue a summons against you, together with costs, and if payment is received in full before the court date we will not proceed.

However, if payment is not received then we will continue with the liability order, adding further court costs.
You can still make a payment arrangement after receiving a summons. Providing you keep to the terms of your arrangement, we will not enforce payment through the liability order.
 

We work closely with the Citizens Advice, which offers help and advice with debt problems.

• For more information, please visit their website.