Overpayment map

Where business properties in England and Wales are most likely to be overpaying

All 318 billing authorities in England and Wales, ranked by the share of properties whose rateable value looks high against genuine comparables. 203,381 of 2,001,529 properties are flagged, about 10.2%.

Indicative saving a year£473macross all flagged properties

Flagged1 in 10business properties in England and Wales

Properties flagged203,381of 2,001,529 analysed

Median claim£713a year, per flagged property

The map

Green, amber and red show each authority’s band. Use the toggle on the map to switch between share flagged and median claim.

Highest % of properties flagged

City of Leicester22.1%
Barking & Dagenham19.8%
Tamworth18.7%
Bristol City18.3%
Bath and North East Somerset18.2%

Lowest % of properties flagged

Tendring3.8%
Rother3.8%
Isles of Scilly4.4%
Adur4.5%
Ribble Valley4.7%

Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate rating systems and are out of scope.

All 318 billing authorities in England and Wales

296 in England and 22 in Wales. Sort on any column; click again to reverse.

Business properties flagged for business rates in each of the 318 billing authorities in England and Wales (2026 rating lists), ranked by the percentage of properties flagged. Median claim is the median annual saving per flagged property. Properties at or below the small business rate relief level (rateable value £12,000 in England, £6,000 in Wales) count one third. Click a column heading to re-sort.
Rank
1	City of Leicester	England	12,091	2,675	22.1%	£458
2	Barking & Dagenham	England	4,382	866	19.8%	£562
3	Tamworth	England	2,012	375	18.7%	£670
4	Bristol City	England	15,912	2,912	18.3%	£648
5	Bath and North East Somerset	England	6,308	1,147	18.2%	£611
6	East Staffordshire	England	3,854	703	18.2%	£516
7	Barnet	England	7,780	1,386	17.8%	£734
8	Exeter	England	4,808	855	17.8%	£929
9	High Peak	England	3,566	634	17.8%	£259
10	Lichfield	England	2,846	507	17.8%	£540
11	Worcester	England	2,968	524	17.6%	£630
12	Milton Keynes	England	8,416	1,472	17.5%	£1,015
13	Havering	England	5,724	995	17.4%	£592
14	Spelthorne	England	2,271	386	17.0%	£778
15	Walsall	England	7,802	1,326	17.0%	£605
16	Sutton	England	3,724	623	16.7%	£611
17	Enfield	England	6,845	1,139	16.6%	£778
18	Haringey	England	7,104	1,176	16.6%	£860
19	Newcastle under Lyme	England	3,332	554	16.6%	£401
20	Kensington & Chelsea	England	8,456	1,342	15.9%	£2,537
21	Stoke on Trent	England	8,953	1,425	15.9%	£562
22	Dudley	England	9,975	1,565	15.7%	£611
23	Sheffield	England	17,942	2,820	15.7%	£670
24	Swansea	Wales	7,531	1,149	15.3%	£527
25	Buckinghamshire	England	14,692	2,229	15.2%	£886
26	Norwich	England	6,703	1,021	15.2%	£898
27	Chesterfield	England	4,181	630	15.1%	£540
28	Newport	Wales	4,550	682	15.0%	£403
29	Wyre Forest	England	3,314	497	15.0%	£454
30	Brent	England	8,903	1,328	14.9%	£669
31	Hinckley & Bosworth	England	3,122	462	14.8%	£562
32	Sandwell	England	10,260	1,512	14.7%	£734
33	Swindon	England	5,274	765	14.5%	£630
34	Bedford	England	5,144	738	14.3%	£756
35	Conwy	Wales	5,124	722	14.1%	£280
36	Runnymede	England	2,623	371	14.1%	£907
37	Coventry	England	8,324	1,162	14.0%	£630
38	Cardiff	Wales	12,939	1,788	13.8%	£602
39	Harrow	England	5,422	749	13.8%	£707
40	Redbridge	England	6,527	900	13.8%	£720
41	Somerset	England	21,030	2,898	13.8%	£454
42	Amber Valley	England	3,694	508	13.7%	£432
43	Broxtowe	England	2,553	351	13.7%	£535
44	North Somerset	England	6,103	838	13.7%	£478
45	Waltham Forest	England	6,677	912	13.7%	£630
46	Richmond upon Thames	England	5,366	732	13.6%	£974
47	City and County of Kingston upon Hull	England	8,923	1,198	13.4%	£734
48	Derby	England	8,051	1,083	13.4%	£605
49	Plymouth	England	7,496	1,005	13.4%	£573
50	Wiltshire	England	15,276	2,051	13.4%	£626
51	Islington	England	11,620	1,542	13.3%	£955
52	Reigate & Banstead	England	3,427	455	13.3%	£562
53	Stroud	England	4,048	538	13.3%	£518
54	East Devon	England	7,021	925	13.2%	£475
55	Oadby & Wigston	England	1,401	183	13.0%	£734
56	Redditch	England	2,444	318	13.0%	£1,032
57	Stevenage	England	2,125	276	13.0%	£955
58	Cheltenham	England	3,946	507	12.9%	£898
59	Nuneaton & Bedworth	England	3,001	386	12.9%	£670
60	Wolverhampton	England	8,462	1,088	12.9%	£648
61	Cotswold	England	5,253	674	12.8%	£432
62	Cherwell	England	4,867	616	12.7%	£907
63	North Hertfordshire	England	4,446	564	12.7%	£670
64	Nottingham	England	11,125	1,406	12.6%	£783
65	Rotherham	England	7,392	928	12.6%	£605
66	Camden	England	17,649	2,207	12.5%	£1,806
67	Sunderland	England	7,798	973	12.5%	£554
68	Hounslow	England	7,471	924	12.4%	£688
69	Melton	England	1,545	191	12.4%	£688
70	Charnwood	England	4,604	564	12.3%	£670
71	Westminster	England	34,075	4,194	12.3%	£4,021
72	Hammersmith & Fulham	England	9,133	1,115	12.2%	£917
73	Herefordshire	England	7,769	950	12.2%	£562
74	North West Leicestershire	England	3,282	398	12.1%	£554
75	Mole Valley	England	2,929	351	12.0%	£756
76	South Oxfordshire	England	4,386	526	12.0%	£605
77	Cambridge	England	4,018	479	11.9%	£1,318
78	Fylde	England	2,847	338	11.9%	£573
79	Lancaster	England	4,901	585	11.9%	£401
80	New Forest	England	7,038	840	11.9%	£611
81	Vale of Glamorgan	Wales	3,553	424	11.9%	£477
82	Stratford on Avon	England	5,483	647	11.8%	£518
83	Bridgend	Wales	5,015	588	11.7%	£377
84	West Lancashire	England	3,251	381	11.7%	£630
85	West Suffolk	England	5,971	700	11.7%	£974
86	Eastbourne	England	3,012	348	11.6%	£611
87	Fenland	England	2,834	328	11.6%	£516
88	Tandridge	England	2,654	308	11.6%	£626
89	Test Valley	England	4,681	541	11.6%	£783
90	Warwick	England	5,088	590	11.6%	£778
91	Ealing	England	10,647	1,225	11.5%	£1,089
92	Tewkesbury	England	2,951	338	11.5%	£583
93	Cannock Chase	England	3,524	401	11.4%	£458
94	Great Yarmouth	England	4,769	545	11.4%	£516
95	Ipswich	England	4,564	520	11.4%	£888
96	Bromsgrove	England	3,195	360	11.3%	£478
97	Rhondda Cynon Taf	Wales	7,445	840	11.3%	£402
98	Rutland	England	1,566	178	11.3%	£478
99	South Kesteven	England	4,230	479	11.3%	£756
100	Eastleigh	England	2,966	332	11.2%	£1,231
101	Gateshead	England	6,529	733	11.2%	£950
102	Peterborough	England	5,919	663	11.2%	£734
103	Gloucester	England	3,984	442	11.1%	£917
104	Harlow	England	2,277	253	11.1%	£1,203
105	South Derbyshire	England	2,224	248	11.1%	£363
106	Babergh	England	3,383	371	11.0%	£535
107	Basildon	England	4,697	515	11.0%	£1,184
108	Breckland	England	4,202	462	11.0%	£688
109	Dartford	England	3,317	366	11.0%	£3,655
110	Derbyshire Dales	England	4,323	476	11.0%	£363
111	Monmouthshire	Wales	3,043	335	11.0%	£552
112	Erewash	England	3,525	383	10.9%	£410
113	Kingston upon Thames	England	4,353	474	10.9%	£1,490
114	Winchester	England	4,815	524	10.9%	£778
115	Bassetlaw	England	4,130	447	10.8%	£497
116	Guildford	England	4,184	453	10.8%	£1,642
117	Stockton-on-Tees	England	5,479	590	10.8%	£688
118	Fareham	England	3,093	331	10.7%	£734
119	Teignbridge	England	5,131	549	10.7%	£516
120	Lewisham	England	5,950	633	10.6%	£670
121	South Ribble	England	3,177	336	10.6%	£458
122	Cheshire West and Chester	England	11,520	1,205	10.5%	£713
123	Kings Lynn & West Norfolk	England	6,133	644	10.5%	£535
124	Lambeth	England	8,650	905	10.5%	£955
125	North East Lincolnshire	England	5,208	549	10.5%	£726
126	Rugby	England	2,741	289	10.5%	£497
127	South Hams	England	6,195	650	10.5%	£401
128	Broadland	England	3,565	371	10.4%	£554
129	Hartlepool	England	2,751	285	10.4%	£707
130	Malvern Hills	England	2,787	290	10.4%	£389
131	Welwyn Hatfield	England	2,801	291	10.4%	£1,469
132	Newcastle upon Tyne	England	11,266	1,162	10.3%	£764
133	Halton	England	3,561	363	10.2%	£478
134	Wychavon	England	4,772	485	10.2%	£583
135	Shropshire	England	11,893	1,199	10.1%	£420
136	St Albans	England	3,692	372	10.1%	£1,051
137	West Devon	England	2,219	225	10.1%	£478
138	Cheshire East	England	14,565	1,457	10.0%	£562
139	Epsom & Ewell	England	1,657	165	10.0%	£879
140	Pembrokeshire	Wales	6,324	631	10.0%	£351
141	Torbay	England	5,297	531	10.0%	£420
142	East Riding of Yorkshire	England	10,987	1,083	9.9%	£562
143	Lincoln	England	3,423	338	9.9%	£1,165
144	Newark & Sherwood	England	3,957	392	9.9%	£540
145	Central Bedfordshire Council	England	6,687	654	9.8%	£936
146	Cornwall	England	34,689	3,392	9.8%	£439
147	Gwynedd	Wales	7,466	729	9.8%	£276
148	Huntingdonshire	England	5,314	521	9.8%	£898
149	Telford and Wrekin	England	5,104	500	9.8%	£605
150	Torfaen	Wales	2,959	290	9.8%	£630
151	Bromley	England	7,039	686	9.7%	£842
152	North Kesteven	England	3,242	314	9.7%	£439
153	Stafford	England	4,141	400	9.7%	£540
154	Tunbridge Wells	England	3,790	369	9.7%	£764
155	Wandsworth	England	8,069	786	9.7%	£1,253
156	Caerphilly	Wales	4,988	479	9.6%	£628
157	Forest of Dean	England	3,124	301	9.6%	£669
158	Isle of Anglesey	Wales	3,243	311	9.6%	£280
159	Mid Suffolk	England	3,266	314	9.6%	£454
160	Middlesbrough	England	4,399	424	9.6%	£670
161	Oxford	England	4,211	404	9.6%	£1,848
162	Southampton City	England	6,383	615	9.6%	£1,253
163	Reading	England	5,398	515	9.5%	£799
164	South Gloucestershire	England	7,329	699	9.5%	£688
165	Southwark	England	12,191	1,160	9.5%	£1,986
166	Wyre	England	3,830	364	9.5%	£363
167	Blackpool	England	6,294	593	9.4%	£346
168	Bolsover	England	2,286	216	9.4%	£325
169	Doncaster	England	9,187	861	9.4%	£554
170	Elmbridge	England	3,603	339	9.4%	£1,015
171	Stockport	England	10,945	1,029	9.4%	£535
172	East Suffolk	England	12,330	1,141	9.3%	£325
173	Southend-on-Sea	England	5,448	508	9.3%	£611
174	Tameside	England	7,318	682	9.3%	£688
175	Blaby	England	2,264	209	9.2%	£1,031
176	Bury	England	5,835	537	9.2%	£626
177	Ceredigion	Wales	3,484	320	9.2%	£351
178	Darlington	England	3,810	349	9.2%	£626
179	Hillingdon	England	8,529	786	9.2%	£1,102
180	Mid Devon	England	3,278	303	9.2%	£458
181	Newham	England	7,723	713	9.2%	£1,274
182	North Tyneside	England	6,102	561	9.2%	£497
183	Rossendale	England	2,655	245	9.2%	£626
184	South Cambridgeshire	England	5,165	477	9.2%	£936
185	South Holland	England	2,660	246	9.2%	£648
186	Staffordshire Moorlands	England	2,869	263	9.2%	£389
187	Durham County	England	14,636	1,332	9.1%	£592
188	Northumberland	England	13,185	1,205	9.1%	£382
189	Warrington	England	6,546	597	9.1%	£1,070
190	Wigan	England	9,183	835	9.1%	£605
191	Braintree	England	4,877	439	9.0%	£929
192	Carmarthenshire	Wales	6,522	590	9.0%	£438
193	Mansfield	England	3,195	286	9.0%	£583
194	Neath Port Talbot	Wales	3,996	360	9.0%	£438
195	North Lincolnshire	England	5,220	472	9.0%	£670
196	North Northamptonshire	England	11,079	996	9.0%	£994
197	Hackney	England	12,065	1,068	8.9%	£1,015
198	Burnley	England	5,254	464	8.8%	£259
199	Mid Sussex	England	4,339	380	8.8%	£821
200	Greenwich	England	5,835	508	8.7%	£1,242
201	Merton	England	5,129	446	8.7%	£2,074
202	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	England	15,644	1,340	8.6%	£475
203	East Cambridgeshire	England	2,399	207	8.6%	£554
204	Hyndburn	England	3,218	278	8.6%	£562
205	South Staffordshire	England	2,561	221	8.6%	£583
206	Thanet	England	5,493	470	8.6%	£497
207	Thurrock	England	4,183	361	8.6%	£1,566
208	Gosport	England	1,884	160	8.5%	£691
209	Powys	Wales	6,119	521	8.5%	£368
210	Redcar and Cleveland	England	4,157	353	8.5%	£382
211	South Norfolk	England	4,413	374	8.5%	£518
212	Chelmsford	England	4,952	414	8.4%	£1,382
213	Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	1,753	148	8.4%	£502
214	North East Derbyshire	England	2,718	228	8.4%	£346
215	North Norfolk	England	7,546	633	8.4%	£325
216	Havant	England	3,053	253	8.3%	£1,203
217	Oldham	England	7,522	621	8.3%	£713
218	South Tyneside	England	3,616	298	8.3%	£478
219	West Northamptonshire	England	11,259	938	8.3%	£1,012
220	Harborough	England	3,072	253	8.2%	£573
221	Portsmouth City	England	6,511	534	8.2%	£1,166
222	Birmingham	England	45,247	3,664	8.1%	£886
223	Isle of Wight	England	7,349	597	8.1%	£401
224	Medway	England	6,123	494	8.1%	£842
225	Sefton	England	7,518	609	8.1%	£554
226	Tower Hamlets	England	17,448	1,415	8.1%	£1,102
227	Epping Forest	England	4,451	355	8.0%	£756
228	Kirklees	England	15,419	1,237	8.0%	£994
229	Preston	England	6,022	479	8.0%	£756
230	Uttlesford	England	3,198	254	8.0%	£670
231	Denbighshire	Wales	3,810	301	7.9%	£402
232	Pendle	England	3,804	299	7.9%	£821
233	West Oxfordshire	England	4,098	325	7.9%	£821
234	Croydon	England	7,880	616	7.8%	£936
235	Manchester	England	26,257	2,040	7.8%	£1,108
236	Rochdale	England	8,645	672	7.8%	£583
237	Salford	England	11,291	882	7.8%	£605
238	Slough	England	3,290	257	7.8%	£1,509
239	Wirral	England	8,007	616	7.7%	£562
240	Calderdale	England	9,314	706	7.6%	£726
241	Chorley	England	3,464	263	7.6%	£583
242	East Lindsey	England	6,521	496	7.6%	£583
243	Barnsley	England	8,587	644	7.5%	£583
244	Gravesham	England	2,166	163	7.5%	£1,051
245	Maidstone	England	4,998	374	7.5%	£1,080
246	Broxbourne	England	2,206	164	7.4%	£1,375
247	East Hertfordshire	England	4,654	343	7.4%	£1,166
248	Hart	England	2,164	160	7.4%	£713
249	Bracknell Forest	England	2,390	174	7.3%	£592
250	City of London	England	17,406	1,277	7.3%	£4,032
251	Dorset Council	England	17,123	1,251	7.3%	£670
252	Leeds	England	30,370	2,214	7.3%	£1,166
253	Solihull	England	4,970	361	7.3%	£898
254	Bexley	England	5,101	366	7.2%	£1,203
255	Flintshire	Wales	4,989	358	7.2%	£1,015
256	Rochford	England	2,926	209	7.2%	£864
257	Basingstoke and Deane	England	4,162	297	7.1%	£1,681
258	Bolton	England	10,611	755	7.1%	£799
259	City of York	England	6,710	476	7.1%	£1,318
260	Colchester	England	5,850	418	7.1%	£1,188
261	Horsham	England	4,670	331	7.1%	£1,015
262	St Helens	England	4,427	316	7.1%	£950
263	Swale	England	4,513	321	7.1%	£756
264	Waverley	England	3,766	269	7.1%	£1,253
265	Worthing	England	3,174	226	7.1%	£707
266	Boston	England	2,301	161	7.0%	£821
267	Bradford	England	18,987	1,320	7.0%	£840
268	Brentwood	England	2,414	169	7.0%	£1,145
269	Brighton & Hove	England	11,209	785	7.0%	£1,280
270	Cumberland	England	11,413	797	7.0%	£573
271	Dover	England	3,974	277	7.0%	£518
272	Hastings	England	3,510	244	7.0%	£764
273	North Devon	England	5,977	417	7.0%	£516
274	Wrexham	Wales	3,878	271	7.0%	£678
275	Windsor and Maidenhead	England	4,540	313	6.9%	£1,337
276	Knowsley	England	2,873	195	6.8%	£1,624
277	North Warwickshire	England	2,322	157	6.8%	£907
278	West Lindsey	England	2,620	179	6.8%	£573
279	Ashfield	England	3,796	256	6.7%	£1,261
280	Crawley	England	3,599	242	6.7%	£3,288
281	Maldon	England	2,407	159	6.6%	£626
282	Watford	England	2,849	189	6.6%	£1,986
283	Woking	England	2,707	179	6.6%	£860
284	Gedling	England	2,513	164	6.5%	£1,509
285	Arun	England	4,627	298	6.4%	£648
286	Blaenau Gwent	Wales	2,088	133	6.4%	£628
287	Ashford	England	5,154	323	6.3%	£842
288	Canterbury	England	6,203	390	6.3%	£993
289	Castle Point	England	1,982	124	6.3%	£1,080
290	Three Rivers	England	1,920	120	6.3%	£842
291	Wakefield	England	11,221	712	6.3%	£840
292	Blackburn with Darwen	England	8,062	497	6.2%	£821
293	Chichester	England	5,150	321	6.2%	£907
294	Tonbridge & Malling	England	3,459	213	6.2%	£1,051
295	Westmorland and Furness	England	13,998	870	6.2%	£535
296	Rushmoor	England	2,530	154	6.1%	£1,204
297	Vale of White Horse	England	3,700	226	6.1%	£1,490
298	Wealden	England	6,396	391	6.1%	£670
299	Dacorum	England	4,032	242	6.0%	£1,490
300	Luton	England	5,333	319	6.0%	£1,102
301	East Hampshire	England	3,805	224	5.9%	£840
302	West Berkshire	England	5,599	331	5.9%	£1,948
303	Liverpool	England	18,643	1,054	5.7%	£1,070
304	North Yorkshire	England	30,589	1,756	5.7%	£726
305	Torridge	England	3,559	196	5.5%	£346
306	Lewes	England	3,484	190	5.4%	£670
307	Sevenoaks	England	4,098	220	5.4%	£745
308	Surrey Heath	England	2,782	148	5.3%	£907
309	Trafford	England	10,577	536	5.1%	£1,426
310	Wokingham	England	4,088	209	5.1%	£1,879
311	Hertsmere	England	3,037	152	5.0%	£1,534
312	Folkestone & Hythe	England	4,072	197	4.8%	£605
313	Rushcliffe	England	2,838	135	4.8%	£1,015
314	Ribble Valley	England	2,458	116	4.7%	£439
315	Adur	England	2,209	100	4.5%	£842
316	Isles of Scilly	England	504	22	4.4%	£420
317	Rother	England	4,312	165	3.8%	£611
318	Tendring	England	8,267	317	3.8%	£648
	England		1,890,710	191,410	10.1%	£734
	Wales		110,819	11,971	10.8%	£438
	England and Wales		2,001,529	203,381	10.2%	£713

12 October 2026 · Source: VOA / businessratechecker.com

Download all 318 as CSV

How this is worked out

Every rateable property in England and Wales

2,001,529 business properties on the 2026 rating lists for England and Wales, from Valuation Office Agency data.

Compared with genuine comparables

Each property is measured against similar properties in its own Valuation Office scheme — same use, nearby — rather than on its headline rateable value.

Flagged where its rateable value looks high

A property is flagged when the evidence suggests its rateable value is higher than it should be. Properties at or below the small business rate relief level (rateable value £12,000 in England, £6,000 in Wales) usually pay nothing, so only one third of those flagged are counted.

Summarised by billing authority

Each authority shows how many properties are flagged, the share of all its properties that represents, and the median claim — the middle annual saving across its flagged properties, with each small property counting one third.

What this is not

Not a valuation. A flag means the published evidence merits a closer look, not that a property is definitely over-assessed.
Not a guarantee. Challenges fail, and a rateable value can rise on review as well as fall.
Not endorsed by the VOA. We use published rating-list data under licence; it does not verify this analysis.
England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate rating systems.
Pubs, hotels and other properties valued on their trade are not compared on floor area, so a per-square-metre comparison does not apply to them.

Using this data

Free to read and free to quote. Please cite businessratechecker.com and link to this page. The CSV carries every authority with the same columns as the table above, and the figures are as at 12 October 2026 against the VOA 2026 rating lists for England and Wales.

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