South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Milton Keynes UA
Businesses in Milton Keynes UA paid £211.4m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Milton Keynes UA
Share of £42.2m total relief, 2025-26.
Milton Keynes UA at a glance
Milton Keynes UA granted £42.2m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £7.1m in Small Business Rate Relief and £6.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £14.9m went to charity relief and £9.9m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Milton Keynes UA has an estimated 12,535 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Milton Keynes UA ranks 156 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 Milton Keynes UA rose by 23.6% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Milton Keynes UA?
Milton Keynes UA's local authority collected £211.4m 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 Milton Keynes UA?
Milton Keynes UA granted £42.2m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £7.1m in Small Business Rate Relief, £6.0m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £14.9m in charity relief, and £9.9m 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.
Milton Keynes UA compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £55,663£20,367 above the South East average (£35,296)£21,673 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 43.7%13.7 percentage points above its 30.0% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +22.4%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
Milton Keynes UA ranks 24th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £55,663, and 7th of 64 in the South East. The largest group of Milton Keynes UA's rateable properties is office property (30.5%), yet industrial property holds the largest share of value (43.7%).
Retail makes up 18.7% of Milton Keynes UA's rateable properties and 19.0% of its rateable value, both below the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, Milton Keynes UA had 150 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, 0.9% of England's 16,900, and 200 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Milton Keynes UA's +22.4% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 58 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Milton Keynes UA was in office property, where total rateable value rose 38.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +16.8% for office property across the South East. No sector fell in Milton Keynes UA: retail property moved least, up 11.0% at the 2026 revaluation, in line with the +10.8% across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Milton Keynes UA came to 15.8% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Milton Keynes UA, at 35.4% 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 Milton Keynes 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 Milton Keynes UA's £55,663.
- Business rates in Rushmoor£52,940 average rateable value, £2,723 lower than Milton Keynes UA
- Business rates in Bracknell Forest UA£52,838 average rateable value, £2,825 lower than Milton Keynes UA
- Business rates in Runnymede£52,461 average rateable value, £3,202 lower than Milton Keynes UA
- Business rates in Cherwell£51,814 average rateable value, £3,849 lower than Milton Keynes UA
- Business rates in Spelthorne£66,293 average rateable value, £10,630 higher than Milton Keynes UA
- Business rates in Crawley£79,172 average rateable value, £23,509 higher than Milton Keynes UA
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Milton Keynes
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