North West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Burnley
Businesses in Burnley paid £32.0m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Burnley?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Burnley
Share of £11.0m total relief, 2025-26.
Burnley at a glance
Burnley granted £11.0m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.2m went to charity relief and £1.0m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Burnley has an estimated 2,655 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Burnley ranks 3 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 Burnley rose by 19.5% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Burnley?
Burnley's local authority collected £32.0m 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 Burnley?
Burnley granted £11.0m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.2m in charity relief, and £1.0m 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.
Burnley compared with the North West and England
- Average rateable value
- £15,358£9,971 below the North West average (£25,329)£18,632 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 40.5%10.3 percentage points above its 30.2% share in the North West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.8%North West: +19.3%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
With an average rateable value of £15,358, Burnley has the 16th lowest figure of England's 296 councils and 33rd of 35 in the North West. Industrial property also accounts for the most properties in Burnley, at 48.9% of its rateable properties.
Shops and other retail property account for 21.2% of Burnley's rateable properties and 20.5% of its value, lower than the 25.1% and 22.4% across the North West. High-value property is limited in Burnley: around 20 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, rising to around 30 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Of the 34 other councils in the North West, 12 saw a weaker change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Burnley's +16.8% and 22 saw a stronger one. Industrial property saw the biggest rise in Burnley: total rateable value up 19.5% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +24.7% for industrial property across the North West. Even the weakest sector in Burnley, retail property, rose 10.1% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +6.2% for retail property across the North West.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Burnley equalled 24.8% 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 Burnley: 43.6% of the total, above 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 Burnley compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in North West, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the North West
Other North West councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Burnley's £15,358.
- Business rates in Pendle£15,221 average rateable value, £137 lower than Burnley
- Business rates in Blackburn with Darwen UA£15,582 average rateable value, £224 higher than Burnley
- Business rates in Rossendale£14,685 average rateable value, £673 lower than Burnley
- Business rates in Westmorland and Furness£16,680 average rateable value, £1,322 higher than Burnley
- Business rates in Ribble Valley£17,964 average rateable value, £2,606 higher than Burnley
- Business rates in Wyre£18,294 average rateable value, £2,936 higher than Burnley
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Burnley
By email.