mybusinessrates.gov.uk/wales the official government website
Working from home, renting out a holiday home or providing bed and breakfast - you may have to pay business rates on your property
Understanding summary valuations
Every five years the rateable values of all 1.75 million business properties in Wales and England are reassessed. The most recent revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2005. Many ratepayers received details of their proposed new rateable value in the form of a summary valuation.
Rateable value
All non-domestic properties – mostly businesses – have a rateable value. This figure is based on a professional assessment of the annual rent of a property if it was available to let on the open market at a fixed valuation date. The rating lists that came into effect on 1 April 2005 are based on a valuation date of 1 April 2003 - all properties are valued from the same date to ensure that they are assessed on a level basis. The VOA gathers as much evidence as possible about actual rents paid for properties in order to determine appropriate rental values.
The rateable value of your property is not the amount you pay in business rates, but it is the basis for the calculation of your business rates bill. Your local authority will calculate this bill by multiplying your rateable value by a factor set by the Welsh Assembly Government each year. This is known as the multiplier, or Uniform Business Rate (UBR). Any rate relief or other adjustment to which you are entitled will then be applied by the local authority.
Only the local authority can calculate your rates liability and this will not be available to you until sometime between February and April, for the next financial year.