South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Guildford
Businesses in Guildford paid £87.8m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Guildford
Share of £22.6m total relief, 2025-26.
Guildford at a glance
Guildford granted £22.6m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £3.5m in Small Business Rate Relief and £4.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £11.1m went to charity relief and £4.3m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Guildford has an estimated 7,250 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Guildford ranks 282 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 office property in Guildford rose by 10.0% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Guildford?
Guildford's local authority collected £87.8m 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 Guildford?
Guildford granted £22.6m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £3.5m in Small Business Rate Relief, £4.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £11.1m in charity relief, and £4.3m 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.
Guildford compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £47,383£12,087 above the South East average (£35,296)£13,393 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 34.7%2.2 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +14.0%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
At £47,383, Guildford's average rateable value ranks 41st of 296 councils in England and 13th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 32.2% of Guildford's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail accounts for 18.9% of Guildford's rateable properties and 23.7% of its rateable value, compared with 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 50 of Guildford's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 60 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Guildford's +14.0% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in 50 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Guildford was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 39.0% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +19.9% for industrial property across the South East. Retail property had the weakest result in Guildford, with total rateable value down 1.8% at the 2026 revaluation, against +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Guildford came to 19.5% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Guildford, at 49.0% of total relief, above 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 Guildford 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 Guildford's £47,383.
- Business rates in Eastleigh£46,585 average rateable value, £798 lower than Guildford
- Business rates in Wokingham UA£46,445 average rateable value, £938 lower than Guildford
- Business rates in Vale of White Horse£48,396 average rateable value, £1,013 higher than Guildford
- Business rates in Tonbridge & Malling£46,025 average rateable value, £1,358 lower than Guildford
- Business rates in Woking£44,702 average rateable value, £2,681 lower than Guildford
- Business rates in Cherwell£51,814 average rateable value, £4,431 higher than Guildford
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Guildford
By email.