This information on this page is a brief guide to the Small Business Rate Relief Scheme and should not to be considered a full guide to the law.
What small business rate relief is available?
- For a qualifying property with a rateable value of up to £12,000 the rate relief is currently 100%. The percentage then decreases on a sliding scale up to a rateable value of £14,999. The rate bill is also calculated using a lower Small Business Non-Domestic Rating multiplier.
- For a qualifying property with a rateable value from £15,000 up to £50,999 the rate bill will be calculated using the Small Business Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier.
Which businesses qualify?
Small Business Rate Relief can only be awarded to ratepayers that do not qualify for mandatory charitable relief or mandatory rural rate relief.
Properties with a rateable value under £15,000
Small Business Rate Relief can be awarded if the ratepayer occupies:
- only one property
or
- one main property and other properties, where the rateable value of each additional property is less than £2,900 and the total rateable value of all the properties is less than £20,000. Rate relief can only be awarded for the main property.
Properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £50,999
If the rateable value of the property is between £15,000 and £50,999 the rate bill will automatically be calculated using the small business rate relief multiplier.
Businesses taking on an extra property
Businesses that take on an additional property or properties, can still receive relief on the first property provided either of the following conditions apply:
- If the second property was occupied before 27 November 2025, entitlement to relief on the first property will continue for a period of 12 months.
- If the second property was occupied on or after 27 November 2025, entitlement to relief on the first property will continue for a period of 36 months.
For more information, please see small business rate relief on GOV.UK
Before to 1 April 2026 a business could only continue to receive relief on the first property for 12 months after occupying the second one.
Tell us of any changes
Small Business Rate Relief is calculated on a daily basis. If at any time in the year a ratepayer no longer qualifies the bill will be adjusted.
Businesses receiving rate relief must tell the Council if the business occupies another property or there is a change to the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than Bedford Borough.
You must tell the Council within 4 weeks of the change happening. If the changes do not affect your entitlement your rate relief will continue. However, if you do not tell the Council within four weeks the relief must be cancelled from the day of the change and can only be awarded again from the day that you tell the Council about the change.
Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief 2026/2027
The scheme protects businesses from large increases after losing other reliefs. This relief will help those ratepayers who are losing some or all of their small business, rural or retail, hospitality and leisure relief as a result of the 2026 revaluation and would otherwise face large increases in their bills. The relief is to ensure that the bill increases by no more than £800 or a set percentage per year (see below). Qualifying businesses do not need to apply. We will automatically add Supporting Small Business Relief to qualifying bills.
Charities and community amateur sport clubs are already entitled to mandatory 80% relief. As such they are not eligible for 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief.
In 2026/2027 the 2023/2025 scheme is extended, with increases capped for eligible ratepayers at the greater of £800 or set percentages (5%, 15% or 30% depending on RV):
| Rateable Value | 2026/2027 |
|---|---|
| Up to £20,000 | 5% |
| £20,000 to £100,000 | 15% |
| Over £100,000 | 30% |
Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief 2023/2025
For businesses that received reduced entitlement to small business rate relief, we’ll limit their 2023/24 to 2025/26 bills to an increase of £600 or 5%, whichever is lower.
Qualifying businesses do not need to apply. We’ll automatically add Supporting Small Business Relief to qualifying bills.
Apply for small business rate relief
When applying for the relief, you must specify the property for which you are claiming. You should also provide a list of any other non-residential properties in England that you occupy.
If you are part of a partnership and any of the partners occupy other non-residential properties, whether individually or as part of the same or a different partnership, you must declare all those properties.
If you start occupying a property that is or was not mentioned in your initial relief application, you must submit a new application for relief to the Council.
Providing false information when applying for small business rate relief is a criminal offence.
To apply for small business rate relief:
- Download our small business rate relief application form (Word).
- Go to Business Rates - pay and manage your account online.
- Upload your completed small business rate relief application form, using the 'upload a document online' button towards the bottom of the page.