Business rates

You'll have to pay business rates if you use a building or part of a building for business purposes.

We're experiencing technical issues with our document management system, which means our business rates processing and response times are longer than usual. 

Our system provider is working to get this fixed as soon as possible. We apologise for any inconvenience. 

View our service update.

About business rates

Business rates are a tax set by the government and are charged on non-domestic properties, including:

  • shops
  • offices
  • pubs
  • warehouses
  • factories
  • advertising hoardings
  • beach huts
  • holiday lets

Around half the money goes to central government, and we put the other half towards the cost of local services in Brighton & Hove.

We'll send you a business rates bill every March for the following tax year.

You can estimate your business rates bill on the GOV.UK website.

You can view our full 2025 guide to business rates for more information.

Who doesn't need to pay

You don’t need to pay business rates in certain situations, for example if your property is exempt, or if you qualify for help with your bill. You can find a full list of exempt properties on the GOV.UK website.