South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Ashford
Businesses in Ashford paid £56.7m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Ashford?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Ashford
Share of £19.6m total relief, 2025-26.
Ashford at a glance
Ashford granted £19.6m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £5.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.8m went to charity relief and £3.5m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Ashford has an estimated 6,555 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Ashford ranks 139 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of industrial property in Ashford rose by 17.3% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Ashford?
Ashford's local authority collected £56.7m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Ashford?
Ashford granted £19.6m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £5.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.8m in charity relief, and £3.5m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Ashford compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £26,782£8,514 below the South East average (£35,296)£7,208 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 35.2%2.7 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +23.2%South East: +19.7%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
Ashford comes 167th of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£26,782) and 45th of 64 in the South East. Industrial property makes up the largest share of Ashford's rateable properties (31.4%), but other commercial property carries the most rateable value (35.2%).
In Ashford, retail is 17.9% of rateable properties and 22.3% of rateable value; across the South East the figures are 22.5% and 20.7%. High-value property is limited in Ashford: around 30 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, rising to around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Only 4 of the 63 other councils in the South East saw a stronger change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Ashford's +23.2%. Retail property saw the biggest rise in Ashford: total rateable value up 34.8% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +10.8% for retail property across the South East. Even the weakest sector in Ashford, industrial property, rose 17.3% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +19.9% for industrial property across the South East.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Ashford equalled 25.1% of gross rates payable in 2025-26, above the 21.2% across English councils taken together. Of the four main reliefs, Small Business Rate Relief accounted for the most in Ashford: 29.6% of the total, close to the England figure of 28.0%.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Ashford compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in South East, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the South East
Other South East councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Ashford's £26,782.
- Business rates in West Oxfordshire£26,770 average rateable value, £12 lower than Ashford
- Business rates in Waverley£26,956 average rateable value, £174 higher than Ashford
- Business rates in Havant£27,166 average rateable value, £384 higher than Ashford
- Business rates in New Forest£26,255 average rateable value, £527 lower than Ashford
- Business rates in Horsham£26,070 average rateable value, £712 lower than Ashford
- Business rates in Brighton & Hove UA£27,771 average rateable value, £989 higher than Ashford
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Ashford
By email.