Retail discount

About the scheme

The government announced a new business rates relief scheme in October 2021 to provide business rates relief on occupied retail, hospitality and leisure properties. This will be applied after any mandatory reliefs and other discretionary reliefs funded by section 31 grants have been applied.

Any relief we provide will be considered in line with the subsidies chapter of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). You can find out more about the subsidy allowance on our COVID-19 business grant subsidy allowance web pages.

Retail discount 2024 to 2025

The retail discount for 2024 to 2025 is 75%. The relief will be capped at £110,000 per business for all properties, with a total limit of £315,000 in a 3-year period. The discount will be included in your business rates bill for 2024 to 2025, if you received it in 2023 to 2024.

You can opt out of the discount for each property at any time until 30 April 2025.

If you opt out of the retail discount for the 2024 to 2025 tax year you cannot change your mind.

Retail discount 2023 to 2024

The retail discount for 2023 to 2024 is 75%. The relief will be capped at £110,000 per business. The discount will be included in your business rates bill for 2023 to 2024, if you received it in 2022 to 2023.

You can opt out of the discount for each property at any time until 30 April 2024.

If you opt out of the retail discount for the 2023 to 2024 tax year you cannot change your mind.

Eligibility

Visit the GOV.UK website to find out if your business is eligible for the scheme.

How to apply

We'll automatically award a retail discount to any sole trader or company that's liable at a property we consider meets the criteria. The discount will be shown on your business rates bill.

If you’ve not received a retail discount on your business rates bill and you consider that your property meets the criteria you should contact us to make an application. Email business.rates@stockport.gov.uk

Note: we can deal with your enquiry quicker if you include your account reference number once in the subject line of the email. It must be in the following format. For example; Reference 9011111111. Do not include it again in the body of the email. You'll also need to confirm the nature of your business and what the property is used for in your request.

You can find your business rates reference number on your business rates bill. It's 10 characters long and starts with '90'.

You can also call 0161 474 5188 to apply, or if you need more information about the scheme.