Glossary
Every term we use, in plain English. Statutory language is unavoidable in rating — it shouldn’t be a barrier.
22 terms
B
Business ratesThe tax most non-residential properties in England pay to their local council, similar to council tax but for shops, offices, warehouses and other business premises.Billing authorityYour local council — the body that actually sends your bill and collects payment, using the Rateable Value the VOA has set.Backdated refundIf a challenge succeeds, the lower Rateable Value is usually applied from when the list started (or when the issue arose), so you can reclaim the difference for the period already paid.
C
Charitable rate reliefAn 80%+ discount available to registered charities and some community amateur sports clubs using a property mainly for charitable purposes.Check, Challenge, AppealThe three-stage official process for disputing your Rateable Value: 'Check' the facts held about your property, 'Challenge' the valuation with evidence, then 'Appeal' to an independent tribunal if it's still unresolved.ComparableA similar nearby property used as evidence for what your Rateable Value should be. Good comparables share your property's type, size band and location.
E — M
Empty property reliefRelief available for a limited period when a business property is genuinely unoccupied, before full rates become payable again.HMRCHis Majesty's Revenue and Customs — the UK tax authority. Since 1 April 2026 it also includes the VOA's valuation function.MultiplierThe pence-in-the-pound rate the government sets each year. Your rates bill is roughly Rateable Value × multiplier, before any reliefs are applied.Match %How closely a comparable property matches yours, based on property type, size and distance. A higher percentage means stronger evidence for a challenge — but even a 100% match is only ever supporting evidence, not a guarantee.
N — R
NNDRNational Non-Domestic Rates — the formal name for business rates, and the name that appears on many council bills and letters instead of 'business rates'.Rateable Value (RV)The official estimate of a property's annual rental value on a fixed valuation date. Your rates bill is based on this figure, not on what you actually pay in rent.Rating listThe public register listing every business property's Rateable Value. The current list is the '2026 list', based on rental values from 1 April 2024.RevaluationThe periodic exercise where the VOA updates every property's Rateable Value to reflect current rents. The most recent revaluation took effect 1 April 2026.Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) reliefA separate discount for qualifying shops, pubs, restaurants, cafés, gyms and similar businesses, on top of or instead of Small Business Rate Relief depending on your circumstances.
S — T
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR)A discount for smaller properties. Below a certain Rateable Value you pay nothing at all; above that there's a sliding-scale ('tapered') discount up to a higher threshold.SCat code'Special Category' code — a short code the VOA uses to classify what type of property something is (e.g. shop, restaurant, office), used to find fair comparables.Transitional reliefA cap that phases in large bill increases (or decreases) gradually after a revaluation, so no ratepayer's bill jumps by the full amount in one go.
V — Z
VOA (Valuation Office Agency)The government body that sets every property's Rateable Value. From April 2026 the VOA is part of HMRC (see below), but 'VOA' is still the common name for the valuation side of the work.Zone AIn shops, the first 6.1 metres of depth from the shop front — the most valuable trading space, and the benchmark rate (£ per m²) used to value the whole unit.Zone B / Zone CThe next bands of depth behind Zone A. They're valued at a fraction of the Zone A rate (commonly half of Zone A for Zone B, half of that again for Zone C) because space further from the shop front is worth less to a retailer.
£
Come across a term we haven’t explained?
Tell us and we’ll add it. If it’s on one of our own reports, that’s a fault of ours.