Small Business Rates Relief

The relief is only available to ratepayers who: 

• Occupy one non-domestic property in England with a rateable value below £15,000; or
• Occupy one main non-domestic property in England with a rateable value below £15,000, any other non-domestic properties occupied in England must have rateable values below £2,900 and the total rateable value of all the occupied properties must be below £20,000.
• Are not in receipt of and would not be eligible for another mandatory relief. 
• The ratepayer must be in occupation of the property, an empty property would not be eligible for the relief.  

Small business rates relief can only be applied to a maximum of ONE property. All other properties are charged at the full rate. 

Requirements if you already have small business rates relief 

You must notify us if: 

• You take up occupation of an additional property. 
• You occupy an additional property outside of the Test Valley area and the rateable value of this property is increased. 

Since February 2014, if following a change in circumstances you become ineligible for small business rates relief, you are entitled to a continuation of small business rates relief for 12 months from the date of the change. If the change occurs on or after 27/11/2025, the extension period is 3 years from the date of the change subject to legislative change.

Rateable value multiplied by the relevant multiplier, minus any reliefs. 

The small business multiplier is 43.2p in the pound for the 2026/27 financial year, or 38.2p in the pound if you also qualify for the retail, hospitality and leisure discounted multiplier. There is also a 1p in the pound transitional supplement for the 2026/27 financial year.

The value of small business rates relief: 

We ask that you make an application and the form should be completed by the ratepayer or a person authorised to complete it on their behalf, as follows; 

• Where the ratepayer is a partnership, a partner of that partnership 
• Where the ratepayer is a trust, a trustee of that trust 
• Where the ratepayer is a body corporate, a director of that body 

In any other case, the application should be made by a person duly authorised to sign on behalf of the ratepayer. 

You may apply for Small Business Rate Relief online by following the link below. 

Small Business Rate Relief Application | Test Valley Borough Council  

Alternatively you can email us at businessrates@testvalley.gov.uk or call on 01264 368000 to make your claim.  

Small Business Rates Relief 2026/27

These figures are based on the Small Business non-domestic multiplier and the Small Business retail multiplier for for 2026/27 which has been set at 43.2p and 38.2p in the pound respectively. Please note, for both there is also an additional 1p in the pound supplement to support the transition scheme.

Since the 1st April 2017 businesses occupying only one property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less should be paying NO rates. 

The links below shows the rates payable from April 2026 by businesses able to claim Small Business Rates Relief, who occupy a single property having a Rateable Value between £12,000 and £15,000, for the financial year 2026/27.

Key: RV - Rateable Value 

£ - Amount payable after claiming Small Business Rates Relief for financial year 2026/27 - N.B. These figures are for guidance only and may vary by a few pence due to variations in decimal point calculations.

Small business non-domestic multiplier

Small business retail multiplier