RATING

Dowd & Company advise existing and new clients on their business rates.

Business rates are a tax on commercial property and are assessed by allocating each and every separate property with a rateable value (RV).

The rateable value is initially set by the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA).  The rateable value is then multiplied by what is called the uniform business rate (UBR), also known as the rate in the pound (£), which is an amount set by central Government each year.

The local authority collect the rates payable and will calculate any rates relief or adjustments which have been decided by Government and which you may be entitled to.

The basic rating calculation is therefore:

Rateable Value (RV) x the uniform business rate (UBR)
=
Rates Payable (less any adjustments that are applicable).

A new rating list with new rateable values is usually done every five years. This is the Valuation Officer’s opinion of the open market rental value of your premises if they were assumed to be available to let on the open market, usually two years before the new rating list.

Dowd & Company will check that the information the Valuation Office holds on a property is correct, including the ‘use’ of the property. We will also ascertain whether the floor areas that the Valuation Office have used are correct.

We will then investigate whether the rent per sq ft is correct, based on the valuation date.  The rates payable should be as carefully considered as the rent you pay as both are substantial occupational costs.

Rating appeals is a specialist area and we will advise on this and recommend niche companies to deal with appeals.