South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Isle of Wight Council UA
Businesses in Isle of Wight Council UA paid £35.8m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Isle of Wight Council UA
Share of £20.3m total relief, 2025-26.
Isle of Wight Council UA at a glance
Isle of Wight Council UA granted £20.3m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £9.3m in Small Business Rate Relief and £4.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.1m went to charity relief and £1.3m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Isle of Wight Council UA has an estimated 4,690 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Isle of Wight Council UA ranks 83 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 Isle of Wight Council UA rose by 14.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Isle of Wight Council UA?
Isle of Wight Council UA's local authority collected £35.8m 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 Isle of Wight Council UA?
Isle of Wight Council UA granted £20.3m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £9.3m in Small Business Rate Relief, £4.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.1m in charity relief, and £1.3m 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.
Isle of Wight Council UA compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £15,066£20,230 below the South East average (£35,296)£18,924 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 47.2%14.7 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +17.3%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
Isle of Wight Council UA ranks 286th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £15,066, and 63rd of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 44.6% of Isle of Wight Council UA's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail accounts for 20.4% of Isle of Wight Council UA's rateable properties and 23.5% of its rateable value, compared with 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 20 of Isle of Wight Council UA'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
Isle of Wight Council UA's +17.3% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the South East: stronger than in 34 of the 63 other councils and weaker than in 28. The sharpest increase in Isle of Wight Council UA was in office property, where total rateable value rose 25.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +16.8% for office property across the South East. No sector fell in Isle of Wight Council UA: retail property moved least, up 10.6% at the 2026 revaluation, in line with the +10.8% across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Isle of Wight Council UA came to 33.5% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Isle of Wight Council UA, at 45.9% 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 Isle of Wight Council UA 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 Isle of Wight Council UA's £15,066.
- Business rates in Wealden£16,451 average rateable value, £1,385 higher than Isle of Wight Council UA
- Business rates in Rother£13,050 average rateable value, £2,016 lower than Isle of Wight Council UA
- Business rates in Hastings£17,861 average rateable value, £2,795 higher than Isle of Wight Council UA
- Business rates in Thanet£18,862 average rateable value, £3,796 higher than Isle of Wight Council UA
- Business rates in Folkestone & Hythe£19,388 average rateable value, £4,322 higher than Isle of Wight Council UA
- Business rates in Lewes£21,487 average rateable value, £6,421 higher than Isle of Wight Council UA
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Isle of Wight Council
By email.