Understanding my business rates bill

Any outstanding balance from 2023/24 or earlier that has not been subject to previous court proceedings, must be paid in full by 31 March 2024. Please check your My Harrow Account (MHA) or last bill to view when your instalments are due, as there may be a final payment due on a date in March 2024.

If you were previously issued with a Summons and the outstanding balance is already with Enforcement Agents, you must contact them to make payment. If your outstanding balance is subject to a payment arrangement, please ensure that it is up-to-date and continue to make your payments in addition to those shown on your new Bill to avoid court proceedings.

An outstanding balance that has been subject to previous court proceedings will be shown as ‘subject to court proceedings’ on your annual bill.

Please download the Refund Request Form at and then complete and upload it using the Evidence upload form.

If you request a refund, your bill for 2024/2025 will have to be recalculated and this will increase your monthly payments. This is because they are currently reduced by the amount of the credit concerned. You will then be sent a new bill after 1st April 2024.

You can view payment methods on the back of your bill, or see Pay my Business Rates.

You can set up a Direct Debit Payment.

If you were previously paying by Direct Debit and this has not been cancelled, this will automatically continue to be your method of payment and you will not need to set up a new Direct Debit instruction for the new financial year (i.e. 2024/25).

You have two options to pay over 12 months:

• Set up a Direct Debit
• submit a request for a payment plan through to March 2025 using the Business Rates Enquiry Form

Note: If you wish to change your payment plan, please pay the 1st April instalment, as requested on your bill and then submit your request for the change to be made immediately after. This will help to ensure that monthly instalments may still be arranged over 12 months. If your request is delayed, it may mean that we are unable to give 12 monthly instalments if there are insufficient months remaining in the year.

If you have recently submitted an application for a reduction to your Business Rates, it may still be awaiting processing. You must continue to pay as per your bill instructions, until you receive a revised bill showing the amount of the reduction and recalculated future instalment amount details. If you have been awarded a full exemption and your Business Rates account is in credit, you can Request a refund.

Please log in to your MyHarrow Account to check the exemption/relief has been applied to your account before you do this.

If you believe you may qualify for a discount or exemption, please view our Reliefs and Exemptions page. You can upload your application using our Evidence upload form.

Please tell us about this change using the Evidence upload form. Once your notification has been processed, the Business Ratepayer will receive a revised or new bill as appropriate. You can check this on your MyHarrow Account.

If your business premises have a rateable value of over £75,000, you will have to pay a supplement to cover the costs of Crossrail. For more information see www.crossrail.co.uk

There is a business rates appeal process in England, known as check, challenge, appeal. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) deals with checks and challenges, while an independent Valuation Tribunal handles appeals. More information can be found on Check and challenge your business rates valuation.

Your current Business Rates bill will remain payable until your appeal has been determined and you are notified accordingly. This is whether your appeal is against the 2017 or 2023 Local Rating List.

The multipliers are determined by Central Government. The small business multiplier has been "frozen" for 2024/5 at the rate applied for 2023/4. The standard multiplier has increased by the amount of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The standard non-domestic rating multiplier is 54.6p

The small business non-domestic rating multiplier is 49.9p

If you reported a change affecting your Business Rates liability after 16th February 2024, any amended bill for 2024/25 will be sent after 1st April 2024.

If you have only 1 property then if your rateable value (RV) is under £12,000 you are entitled to 100% relief, with a taper being applied to RV’s between £12,001 and £15,000. If your RV is over £15,001 but under £51,000 your Business Rates charge will be worked out using the SBR multiplier which is less than the standard multiplier.

Further information concerning SBR, including where you take on another property, see Business Rates Reliefs and Exemptions

All commercial properties in England were revalued with effect from 1st April 2023. If your Business Rates liability on 1st April 2023 exceeded your liability on 31st March 2023 by more than a Government specified amount, you may have been eligible for transitional relief to phase in the effect of that increase in 2023/24. The amount of any transitional relief that you may be entitled to for 2024/25 will automatically be shown on your Business Rates bill. You will not need to contact us to apply for it.

For more information see Transitional Relief.

From 1st April 2024, the level of relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will remain unchanged at 75% and will continue to be subject to a capped maximum amount of £110,000 per business. There will be no rateable value threshold limit. Details of the businesses that may be eligible for relief under the scheme can be found in our scheme policy at Business Rates retail: hospitality and leisure relief

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief Scheme is subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance limits under the Subsidy Control Act. This means that no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year and the 2 previous financial years).

Extended Retail Discounts granted in 2021/22 do not count towards the limit. Covid business grants received from local government and any other subsidy claimed under the Minimal Financial Assistance or Small Amounts of Financial Assistance limit over the 3-year period should, however, be counted.

On 17th November 2022, Central Government announced that where ratepayers lost Small Business Relief due to effects of the revaluation effective from 1st April 2023, they would be protected by limiting the increase to £50 a month, a maximum of £600 per annum. If you remain eligible for that reduction during 2024/25, it will be automatically shown on your annual bill. There is no need to make an application.

Over 95% of our customer interactions are now online or over the telephone. If you have enquiries relating to Business Rates, please first visit www.harrow.gov.uk/brates

Should you need assistance to access our services online, Council staff at Greenhill Library will be happy to help you at: Greenhill Library, Perceval Square, College Road, Harrow, HA1 1GX. This service is available Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm. The opening hours of the main library may differ.

You can use this service to submit enquiries online, notify changes of circumstance, make cashless payments, and submit requested documents. Documents will be scanned and returned to you.