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Business Rates

Find business rate information with links to business rates calculations, payments and reliefs.

Business rates in North Lincolnshire

Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, like shops, offices, pubs, warehouses, factories, holiday rental homes or guest houses. For more information see business rates on Gov.UK.

We offer various ways to pay business rates, including direct debits and online payments. Please note we no longer accept cheques.

For all payments

  • Please quote your Payment Reference Number so that your payments are credited to the correct account
  • Payment should be received on or before the instalment dates shown on the bill
  • Notices will be issued if payments are not received by the due dates
  • Failure to pay your bill will result in the instalment payment option being withdrawn and recovery action being taken
  • If you have lost your bill, please contact us to request a copy

For general enquiries please contact us.

Making a payment

To make a payment, or to view your business rate (NNDR) balance please use our online payments portal:

Or you can choose one of the following payment methods:

Direct debit – the easy way to pay

To pay by direct debit please print out, and complete the Business Rates Direct Debit Form  [PDF, 64Kb]. You can either return it to the address on the form or send to nndr@northlincs.gov.uk.

Alternatively, call 0300 3030164 (option 4) to arrange the direct debit over the phone. This is our preferred method of payment. It is easier and cheaper for us to administer.

Pay by telephone

Call 0300 3030164 (option 1) to pay.  This line is available to make payments 24 hours a day.

You can pay over the telephone using a debit or credit card.  You will need your Payment Reference Number and card details to hand.

Personal banking

The council’s bank is Barclays plc. Sort code 20-76-30. Account number 83416593.

You MUST quote your non-domestic business rate account number. Please note, if paying this by standing order, you must ensure your payment reaches us by the first of every month. Failure to do so will result in a reminder being issued.

Barcode rate demand notice

You can pay by cash or debit card at any Post Office or by cash at any PayPoint outlet at no additional cost using the barcode on your bill.

When making a cash or debit card payment at a Post Office or shop that accepts PayPoint payments:

  • hand over your demand notice, or card, with your payment
  • your payment will be processed
  • your demand notice, or card, will be returned to you
  • you will also receive a printed receipt to confirm your payment

Make sure you get a receipt for every payment.

To find your nearest PayPoint store, click the PayPoint Locator.

You can tell us about a change affecting your business rates using our online forms below:

Revaluation 2023

Ratepayers are now able to access the draft rating list 2023 and estimate what their business rates bill might be from 1 April 2023.

Find a business rates valuation – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

At revaluation, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) adjusts the rateable value of business properties to reflect changes in the property market. The most recent revaluation came into effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2017, based on rateable values from 1 April 2015. The next revaluation will come into effect on 1 April 2023, based on rateable values from 1 April 2021.

A package of targeted support worth £13.5 billion over the next five years will support businesses as they transition to their new bills, protect businesses from the fill impact of inflation, and support our high streets. English Local Authorities will be fully compensated for the loss of income because of these business rates measures and will receive new burdens funding for administrative and IT costs.

Multipliers from 1 April 2024

The business rates multipliers are as follows:
Tax Year Small business multiplier (RV 0 to 50,999) Standard multiplier (RV OVR 51,000)
2023/24 49.9p 51.2p
2024/25 49.9p 54.6p

 

Please note that the small business multiplier will also be used if a business with a rateable value between 0 and £50,999 is unoccupied, on the central list or occupied by charities too in accordance with the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023.

Business Rates Transitional Relief Scheme

Transitional relief limits how much your bill change each year as a result of the latest business rates revaluation which took effect from 1 April 2023. Transitional relief is awarded if your rates go up or down by more than a certain amount. This means changes to your bill are phased in gradually. We will adjust your bill automatically if you are eligible. Transitional relief will be awarded as below:

Rateable value 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26
up to £20,000 5% 10% plus inflation 25% plus inflation
£20,000 to £100,000 15% 25% plus inflation 40% plus inflation
Over £100,000 30% 40% plus inflation 55% plus inflation

 

Business Rates Supporting Small Business Scheme (SSB)

Bill increases for the smallest businesses losing eligibility or seeing reductions in Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) or Rural Rate Relief (RRR) will be capped at £600 per year from April 2023. This is support worth over £500 million over the next three years and will protect over 80,000 small businesses who are losing some or all eligibility for relief. This means no small business losing eligibility for SBRR or RRR will see a bill increase of more than£50 per month in 2023-24.

Small business rate relief is only available to ratepayers who occupy either:

  • one property, or
  • one main property and other additional properties (providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,899)

For details of small business rate relief visit the business rates relief page on Gov.UK

You can apply to the council for small business rate relief online:

If an application for relief is granted, the ratepayer will not need to re-apply for relief in each new valuation period (providing the conditions for relief apply at the relevant time, for both the property and the ratepayer).

Changes in circumstance

When you have a change in circumstance, it may affect your small business rate relief. Please notify us immediately of either of the following changes:

  • The ratepayer taking up occupation of a property they did not occupy at the time of making their application for relief
  • 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

Notification of these changes must be given to the council within four weeks of the day on which the change happened. If this happens, there will be no interruption to the ratepayer’s entitlement to the relief.

You must make a fresh application for relief if you take up occupation of an additional property. Notice of an increase in rateable value must be given in writing.

Please contact us for full details on the eligibility criteria.

From 1 April 2020 the government expanded the Retail Discount as follows:

  • widened the Retail Relief scheme to include the leisure and tourism industry, including hotels, cafes, restaurants, nightclubs and gyms. Properties previously not allowed retail relief including estate agents and betting shops have now also been included.
  • removed the £51,000 rateable value ceiling level.

This then continued for 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and will continue during 2024/25 as follows:

  • 100% relief for three months from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021 with no cash cap, followed by 66% relief from 1 July to 31 March 2022.
  • 50% relief from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
  • 75% relief from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025 for eligible properties up to a cap of £110,000 per business.

The latest guidance for the Business Rates Relief: 2023/24 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme can be found at Business Rates Relief: 2023/24 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Scheme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

All ratepayers have the option of declining their retail relief. If you wish to decline the retail relief as described in the Budget, please contact us as soon as possible.

We can be contacted at nndr@northlincs.gov.uk or call 0300 3030164 and choose option 4

Reduction and relief information for non domestic rates (NNDR)

Please contact us if you need any further information.  Please remember to have your account number to hand.

Local Newspapers

The extension of the £1,500 business rates discount for office space occupied by local newspapers will apply for an additional five years until 31 March 2025.

Partly occupied property relief

The full non-domestic rate is due whether a property is wholly or partly occupied. Where a property is partly occupied for a short time we have discretion, in certain cases, to award relief for the unoccupied part.

Charity and community amateur sports relief

Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) are entitled to 80 per cent relief in many cases. If the property is occupied by the charity of the CASC and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of charity, or for the purposes of the CASC (or of that and other CASCs), relief will be granted. We also have discretion to give further relief on the remaining 20 per cent of the bill.

Hardship relief

We have discretion to give relief in special circumstances.

Rural Rate Relief

Certain types of properties in a rural settlement, with a population below 3,000, may be entitled to relief. The property must be:

  • the only general store, the only Post Office, or a food shop and have a rateable value of less than £8,500, or
  • be the only public house or the only petrol station and have a rateable value of less than £12,500

Improvement Relief

Section 1 of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 created a new mandatory relief to support businesses making improvements to properties they occupy. From 1 April 2024, businesses that have made qualifying improvements may benefit from 100% relief from higher bills for 12 months. The scheme will run until 1 April 2029. Further information will be published once guidance has been received in relation to this relief.

Heat networks relief

You can get heat networks relief if your property is only used or mainly used as a ‘heat network’.

A heat network supplies heating or cooling to other properties from a central source. To be eligible, the heat network must:

  • take its energy from a low carbon source
  • supply heating and cooling to other properties – for example, homes, shops, public buildings, hospitals and offices

The heat network must not supply heat or cooling for industrial use – for example, to create products in factories.

You will not pay business rates if your property is eligible for heat networks relief. Contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to check if your property is eligible for heat networks relief.

Film Studio Relief

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his latest budget 6 March 2024 that eligible film studios would benefit from a 40% reduction on gross business rates bills from 1 April 2024 until 2034. Further details to follow.

New rules in relation to self-catering accommodation has come into force from 1 April 2023. All new self-catering accommodation from 11 November 2022 onwards will fall under the new rules. Whether it be a brand-new dwelling/complex or an existing property in the domestic list which is now being rented out commercially as self-catering accommodation, it will remain in the domestic list or enter the domestic list until the following criteria is met:

The whole of the building or self-contained part of the building must have been available to let commercially, as self-catering accommodation, for short periods totalling 140 days or more and actually let out for a total of at least 70 days.

A short term let is considered to be a period of 28 days or less.

Until the criteria is met, Council Tax will be payable. Once the property meets the criteria to enter the non-domestic ratings list, the owner must submit a “Form of Return” to the Valuation Office Agency. This can be found at Request for rental information for specific business types – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Valuation Office Agency will then make the final decision and notify the council.

If you own or hold a lease for a non-domestic property and it is empty and not in use, you may be entitled to a period exemption (3 months/6 months for industrial premises) from the date if first became empty. After the exemption ends, full business rates will be payable.

PLEASE NOTE – If a property has not been in occupation for at least 13 weeks before it becomes empty, an exemption will not be awarded.

For further information visit the business rate relief page on GOV.UK.

Dealing with all the problems debt creates can be difficult, but you can find help and guidance from the following organisations:

They can give advice if you are worried about any of the following:

  • You are struggling with your finances
  • You think your home or business is at risk
  • You are worried about legal action being taken against you
  • Your creditors will not accept the payments you are offering
  • You do not feel confident in sorting out your finances
  • You have any questions about your finances

Contact us if you are having difficulties paying. This gives us a chance to work together to clear the debt. We are here to help where possible, and will work closely with other departments and agencies to help give you support.

Help us to help you

When we write to you about your debt, please contact us so that we can discuss your outstanding debt.

Avoid the unpleasant consequences of ignoring debt, such as enforcement agents, court procedures and bankruptcy.

This explains what happens if you fail to pay business rates, and the summons procedures for the recovery of unpaid business rates.

Non payment of business rates

If you are experiencing difficulties paying your business rates please contact us to see how we can help.

Missed instalments

If an instalment is not paid by the due date:

  • a reminder notice will be issued
  • the reminder will show the amount required to be paid to bring your instalments up to date
  • you will have seven days to make the payment or the right to pay by instalments will be removed

Once instalments have been cancelled:

  • a further seven days will be given to pay the full balance otherwise further recovery action will be taken
  • at this stage bringing the account ‘up-to-date’ will not be sufficient to prevent legal action being taken against you
  • if this happens you will receive a summons to appear before the Magistrates Court

Summonsed to court

Business Rates Summons and Liability Audio Hearing

If you have received a Summons Notice from the council, it means that they will ask the court to grant a liability order for unpaid business rates. A liability order means that the court agrees that you owe the money and that the council can take steps to collect it by taking control of goods, bankruptcy, or winding up order.

At present, liability order hearings are held remotely by audio link. You should not attend a Magistrates Court building.

Your options

You have some options:

  • Pay off the amount on the summons in full including the costs – that will end the case
  • Do nothing – the council will ask the court to make the liability order in your absence
  • If you accept that you owe the money, you can make an agreement with the council about how you will pay it (usually in instalments)

If you make an agreement to pay with the council, they will still ask the court for a liability order. But if you stick to the agreement, they will not take any other steps (seizing goods etc). However, should you default on payment the liability order will be enforced. To make an agreement you should contact the council immediately on 0300 303 0164 rather than waiting for the court hearing. If you do that, you will probably not need to attend the court hearing as the council will ask the court to make the liability order in your absence. Then they will collect the money as you and the council have agreed. If you are thinking about disputing the order (instead of paying – perhaps by instalments – or doing nothing) you should read the notes on the back of the Summons. They tell you what the council must prove to the court, and what defences you have. These are listed below. Then, if you still want to dispute the liability order you must, check the Defences to a Liability or to be sure you have a valid defence.

Then:

  • Contact the council at least seven days prior to the court hearing and have a meeting with them to explain why you believe you are not liable
  • If you cannot agree, you will be given a time to attend court by way of a telephone hearing
  • You will need to make yourself available for this telephone hearing for the full period of time the council will give you
  • If you are not available and fail to answer the call when the court telephones you the court may make the liability order against you in your absence

Please Note: if you turn up at the Magistrates’ Court without a prior appointment, you may be refused entry and your case may be heard in your absence.

Defences to a liability order

These are defences which have previously been successful:

NNDR: Local Government Finance Act 1989. National Non-Domestic Rating (Collection & Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989.

  • There is no entry in the rating list effective for the period for which the defendant is alleged to have been liable to pay the business rates
  • That the bill, reminder/final notice, and summons have not been demanded or served in accordance with the National Non-Domestic Rating (Collection & Enforcement) (Local Lists) Regulations 1989
  • That the amount demanded has been paid
  • The ratepayer is deceased
  • That application was made more than six years after the first demand notice was issued
  • That the council is in breach of the duty to service notices “as soon as practicable” in the relevant year
  • Although you occupy only part of the premises in one assessment you are being charged for the whole property (with no lease in place for this)

The court will issue a liability order if the council has done what it should, and you are the person responsible for the council tax at that property but you have not got an acceptable defence

The extra costs of non payment

The Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1990 PART III Regulation 7, allows for the court to make an order for reasonable costs incurred in the application.

  • A Non-domestic Rates Summons is £55 plus £10 for the Liability Order
  • A Committal Summons is £245 plus a further £105 for a Warrant of Arrest
  • A liability order received by an enforcement agent (bailiff) for collection incurs a compliance fee of £75 and an enforcement fee of £235 for a visit by an enforcement agent

For further information please contact us on nndr@northlincs.gov.uk or 0300 3030164

The council (including Council Tax, Benefits, Business Rates and Debt Recovery teams) are now using SMS text messages to provide you with information about our services. Please note that these are only used in some cases and you should not rely on us sending you a text message to update you about your account.

How it works

If we already have your mobile number in our system you will be signed up for the service automatically. If we don’t have your mobile number or your number has changed recently and you would like to receive SMS texts please send an email to nndr@northlincs.gov.uk

Opting out

If you would like to opt-out of receiving SMS text messages for Business Rates please email nndr@northlincs.gov.uk to confirm that you do not wish to receive information from us by SMS text message. You will need to give your account number, name and address so we can update your account accordingly.

Who sends the messages?

The SMS text messages are sent by North Lincolnshire Council, and will show as “NL Council”. The sending of messages is a confidential service, your mobile number will not be shared with third parties and we will not send you any other marketing messages to your phone.

Business rates are a local tax that is paid by the occupiers of all non-domestic/business property, in the same way that council tax is a tax on domestic property.

This money, together with revenue from council taxpayers, revenue support grant provided by the Government and certain other sums, is used to pay for the services provided by your local council and other local authorities in your area.

Business rates are charged on most business properties such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories.  However, the property doesn’t have to be used for a business – if it is used for purposes which are not domestic it is likely to be rateable.  We will send you a business rates bill each year.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) sets the rateable value of business premises by using property details such as rental information.

We use the rateable value and the business rates multiplier (set by central government) to calculate your business rates bill.

If you have a query about business rates please contact us.

Understanding your rateable value’

Business rates are based on your property’s rateable value. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) maintains the Non-Domestic Rating List. This includes setting the rateable values of business properties. To understand why your property has a certain rateable value, please see How business rates are calculated page on Government website.

National non-domestic rating multiplier

Councils work out the business rates bill by multiplying the rateable value of the property by the appropriate multiplier. There are two multipliers:

  • the standard non-domestic rating multiplier
  • the small business non-domestic rating multiplier

The standard multiplier is higher, to pay for small business rate relief.

The Government sets the multipliers for each financial year, according to formulae set by legislation. Between revaluations, the multipliers change each year in line with inflation, and take account of the cost of small business rate relief. In the year of revaluation the multipliers are rebated to account for overall changes to total rateable value and to ensure that the revaluation does not raise extra money for Government. The current multipliers are shown on the front of your bill.

Unoccupied property rating

If the unoccupied property rate for the financial year has been reduced by order, it will be shown on the front of your bill.

Business Rates are not be payable in the first three months that a property is empty. This is extended to six months in the case of certain industrial properties. After this period, rates are payable in full, unless the unoccupied property rate has been reduced by the Government, by Order. In most cases, the unoccupied property rate is zero for properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs. In addition, there are a number of exemptions from the unoccupied property rate.

For full details please contact us.

Rating advisors

Ratepayers do not have to be represented in discussions about the rateable value of their rates bill. Appeals against rateable values can be made free of charge. However, ratepayers who do wish to be represented should be aware that members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Institute of Revenues and Rating (IRRV) are qualified and are regulated by rules of professional conduct, designed to protect the public from misconduct.

Before you employ a rating advisor, 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.

Related documents

We receive a number of requests for information about business rate accounts (non-domestic properties). To provide a better understanding of business rates in North Lincolnshire the following information is made available.

Business rate billing

The Business rates annual statistics [XLS, 14Kb] document is published annually and contains information to the end of the last financial year, including:

  • number of reminders, summonses and liability orders issued during the year
  • number of business rates cases referred to bailiffs
  • costs to court (gross value of costs raised, including summonses)

The Costs raised and paid for Summons and Liability Orders [XLS, 11Kb] are shown on a separate spreadsheet and are also updated annually.

The Business rates live accounts at end of last calendar year [XLSX, 416Kb] contains details of properties liable for business rates. It will be updated annually, each January, with a list of accounts that were live on 31 December.

The following information will be updated every six months:

The New liabilities this year [XLS, 32Kb] and Ended liabilities this year [XLS, 21Kb] are updated monthly with the previous month’s figures available by the end of the current month.  These provide a list of all North Lincolnshire properties newly liable for non domestic rates, and a list of properties no longer liable for non domestic rates.

We cannot vouch for the ongoing accuracy of the data, as accounts are updated daily and the information published on this page is only updated periodically.

COVID-19 Grants for Businesses

In response to COVID-19, the Government announced there would be a scheme of financial support for businesses. This support is taking the form of multiple grants.

Details of businesses who have received support from the council for the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund are in the North Lincolnshire Council Covid Grants [XLS, 241Kb]

Please also see attached details of businesses that have benefited from the Local Restrictions Support Grant, Closed Business Lockdown Payment and Wet Pub Christmas Support Grant:

Information we do not publish

We are unable to disclose information relating to individuals and properties owned by individuals. This information is classed as “personal data” as defined in the Data Protection Act 1998, and is exempt from disclosure by section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. For more information about this, please see the Information Tribunal decision for The London Borough of Bexley and Mr C P England v The Information Commissioner.

Further information

The Valuation Office Agency website:

  • provides details of rateable values
  • gives descriptions and total area of individual business properties
  • finds and compares business properties’ rateable values
  • allows you to appeal your business property’s rateable value

The Land Registry provides ownership details for registered land and for registered property.

Enforcement Agents act on behalf of the council. Further information about the agents is available on our Enforcement Agents webpage.

North Lincolnshire (NL) and North East Lincolnshire (NEL) Councils have a shared service agreement covering the Local Taxation and Benefits sections.

The shared service agreement consists of information sharing protocols and signed agreements covering the Council Tax and Benefits services.

We have tried to make these documents as accessible as possible. If you require a different format, please contact us. You can read our Accessibility Statement on our website