With the help of technology, more people work from home now than ever before. If you work from home it is possible that the part of the property used for work should be rated for business rate purposes, while the rest of your home remains subject to Council Tax.
It is the responsibility of the Valuation Office Agency, not the Council, to decide if you should be paying business rates for the home working part of your property. Although each case is decided on its own merits, the VOA will consider the following:
- The extent and frequency of the business use within your home – for instance, how many rooms are involved and how much space does the business-working take up in comparison with the amount of living accommodation.
- Any modifications made to the property to fulfil the home-working requirements.
- Whether any staff are employed at the property to assist the business.
If you want to find out whether your property should be partly business and partly residential, contact the Valuation Office Agency. The VOA will decide if the business is either sufficiently minimal to exclude the property from business rate assessment, or whether it has been suitably adapted to qualify for business rate assessment.
Dependent upon the nature and extent of the business usage, your home may have its Council Tax valuation band reduced. If this happens we will send you a revised Council Tax bill for the reduced charge, together with a refund for any overpayment if appropriate.
We will also send you a business rates bill if the VOA decides to include part of your property in the rating list for non-domestic purposes.
