South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Dartford
Businesses in Dartford paid £99.3m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Dartford
Share of £15.6m total relief, 2025-26.
Dartford at a glance
Dartford granted £15.6m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £2.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.8m went to charity relief and £3.8m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Dartford has an estimated 4,730 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Dartford ranks 170 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 Dartford rose by 15.5% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Dartford?
Dartford's local authority collected £99.3m 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 Dartford?
Dartford granted £15.6m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £2.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.8m in charity relief, and £3.8m 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.
Dartford compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £60,992£25,696 above the South East average (£35,296)£27,002 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 44.2%14.2 percentage points above its 30.0% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +14.1%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
Dartford ranks 17th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £60,992, and 5th of 64 in the South East. The largest group of Dartford's rateable properties is other commercial property (27.8%), yet industrial property holds the largest share of value (44.2%).
Retail makes up 25.2% of Dartford's rateable properties and 27.4% of its rateable value, both above the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 60 of Dartford's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 80 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Dartford's +14.1% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in 49 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Dartford was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 15.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Dartford: office property moved least, up 9.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +16.8% for office property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Dartford came to 13.3% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Dartford, at 31.0% of total relief, close to 29.7% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Dartford 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 Dartford's £60,992.
- Business rates in Reading UA£59,292 average rateable value, £1,700 lower than Dartford
- Business rates in Oxford£63,533 average rateable value, £2,541 higher than Dartford
- Business rates in Spelthorne£66,293 average rateable value, £5,301 higher than Dartford
- Business rates in Milton Keynes UA£55,663 average rateable value, £5,329 lower than Dartford
- Business rates in Crawley£79,172 average rateable value, £18,180 higher than Dartford
- Business rates in Slough UA£86,439 average rateable value, £25,447 higher than Dartford
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Dartford
By email.