South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Folkestone & Hythe
Businesses in Folkestone & Hythe paid £30.1m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Folkestone & Hythe?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Folkestone & Hythe
Share of £14.1m total relief, 2025-26.
Folkestone & Hythe at a glance
Folkestone & Hythe granted £14.1m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £5.3m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.4m went to charity relief and £2.6m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Folkestone & Hythe has an estimated 3,795 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Folkestone & Hythe ranks 79 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 retail property in Folkestone & Hythe rose by 11.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Folkestone & Hythe?
Folkestone & Hythe's local authority collected £30.1m 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 Folkestone & Hythe?
Folkestone & Hythe granted £14.1m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £5.3m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.9m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.4m in charity relief, and £2.6m 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.
Folkestone & Hythe compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £19,388£15,908 below the South East average (£35,296)£14,602 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 44.0%11.5 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +18.2%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
On average rateable value, Folkestone & Hythe sits 252nd among England's 296 councils at £19,388, which is 59th of 64 in the South East. Other commercial property also accounts for the most properties in Folkestone & Hythe, at 33.6% of its rateable properties.
Shops and other retail property account for 24.5% of Folkestone & Hythe's rateable properties and 25.9% of its value, higher than the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. High-value property is limited in Folkestone & Hythe: around 20 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, unchanged at around 20 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Of the 63 other councils in the South East, 42 saw a weaker change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Folkestone & Hythe's +18.2% and 20 saw a stronger one. Office property saw the biggest rise in Folkestone & Hythe: total rateable value up 21.3% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +16.8% for office property across the South East. Even the weakest sector in Folkestone & Hythe, retail property, rose 11.8% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Folkestone & Hythe equalled 31.8% 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 Folkestone & Hythe: 37.4% 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 Folkestone & Hythe 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 Folkestone & Hythe's £19,388.
- Business rates in Thanet£18,862 average rateable value, £526 lower than Folkestone & Hythe
- Business rates in Hastings£17,861 average rateable value, £1,527 lower than Folkestone & Hythe
- Business rates in Arun£21,445 average rateable value, £2,057 higher than Folkestone & Hythe
- Business rates in Wealden£16,451 average rateable value, £2,937 lower than Folkestone & Hythe
- Business rates in Isle of Wight Council UA£15,066 average rateable value, £4,322 lower than Folkestone & Hythe
- Business rates in Rother£13,050 average rateable value, £6,338 lower than Folkestone & Hythe
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Folkestone & Hythe
By email.