South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Oxford
Businesses in Oxford paid £95.0m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Oxford
Share of £45.3m total relief, 2025-26.
Oxford at a glance
Oxford granted £45.3m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £2.6m in Small Business Rate Relief and £6.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £33.4m went to charity relief and £5.0m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Oxford has an estimated 4,865 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Oxford ranks 208 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 Oxford rose by 26.3% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Oxford?
Oxford's local authority collected £95.0m 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 Oxford?
Oxford granted £45.3m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £2.6m in Small Business Rate Relief, £6.4m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £33.4m in charity relief, and £5.0m 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.
Oxford compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £63,533£28,237 above the South East average (£35,296)£29,543 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 48.6%16.1 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +22.3%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
Oxford ranks 14th of 296 English councils for average rateable value, at £63,533, and 4th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 35.9% of Oxford's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail accounts for 26.7% of Oxford's rateable properties and 21.6% of its rateable value, compared with 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 80 of Oxford's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to 110 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Oxford's +22.3% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 56 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Oxford was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 28.0% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Oxford: retail property moved least, up 8.3% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Oxford came to 29.1% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Oxford, at 73.7% 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 Oxford 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 Oxford's £63,533.
- Business rates in Dartford£60,992 average rateable value, £2,541 lower than Oxford
- Business rates in Spelthorne£66,293 average rateable value, £2,760 higher than Oxford
- Business rates in Reading UA£59,292 average rateable value, £4,241 lower than Oxford
- Business rates in Rushmoor£52,940 average rateable value, £10,593 lower than Oxford
- Business rates in Crawley£79,172 average rateable value, £15,639 higher than Oxford
- Business rates in Slough UA£86,439 average rateable value, £22,906 higher than Oxford
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Oxford
By email.