South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Dover
Businesses in Dover paid £59.6m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Dover
Share of £13.5m total relief, 2025-26.
Dover at a glance
Dover granted £13.5m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.3m went to charity relief and £3.9m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Dover has an estimated 3,680 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Dover ranks 81 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 Dover rose by 28.7% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Dover?
Dover's local authority collected £59.6m 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 Dover?
Dover granted £13.5m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.3m in charity relief, and £3.9m 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.
Dover compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £30,442£4,854 below the South East average (£35,296)£3,548 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 54.4%21.9 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +75.9%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
On average rateable value, Dover sits 131st among England's 296 councils at £30,442, which is 39th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 36.2% of Dover's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail makes up 20.7% of Dover's rateable properties and 13.9% of its rateable value, both below the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 20 of Dover's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 30 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Dover's +75.9% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 62 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Dover was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 120.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Dover: retail property moved least, up 8.1% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Dover came to 19.3% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Dover, at 35.6% of total relief, above 28.0% 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 Dover 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 Dover's £30,442.
- Business rates in South Oxfordshire£30,275 average rateable value, £167 lower than Dover
- Business rates in Maidstone£31,473 average rateable value, £1,031 higher than Dover
- Business rates in Mid Sussex£31,553 average rateable value, £1,111 higher than Dover
- Business rates in Surrey Heath£31,808 average rateable value, £1,366 higher than Dover
- Business rates in Eastbourne£29,043 average rateable value, £1,399 lower than Dover
- Business rates in Winchester£32,555 average rateable value, £2,113 higher than Dover
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Dover
By email.