North East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Sunderland
Businesses in Sunderland paid £89.7m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Sunderland
Share of £27.2m total relief, 2025-26.
Sunderland at a glance
Sunderland granted £27.2m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £9.8m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £9.5m went to charity relief and £3.0m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Sunderland has an estimated 5,975 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Sunderland ranks 22 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 Sunderland rose by 26.8% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Sunderland?
Sunderland's local authority collected £89.7m 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 Sunderland?
Sunderland granted £27.2m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £9.8m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £9.5m in charity relief, and £3.0m 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.
Sunderland compared with the North East and England
- Average rateable value
- £27,791£3,280 above the North East average (£24,511)£6,199 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 36.0%6.3 percentage points above its 29.7% share in the North East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.5%North East: +17.8%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 £27,791, Sunderland's average rateable value ranks 151st of 296 councils in England and 3rd of 12 in the North East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 29.7% of Sunderland's rateable properties fall in the industrial category.
Retail makes up 29.2% of Sunderland's rateable properties and 25.4% of its rateable value, both above the 25.6% and 24.3% across the North East. At March 2026, around 50 of Sunderland'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
Sunderland's +16.5% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the North East: stronger than in 5 of the 11 other councils and weaker than in 6. The sharpest increase in Sunderland was in industrial property, where total rateable value rose 26.8% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +24.7% for industrial property across the North East. No sector fell in Sunderland: retail property moved least, up 0.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +3.1% for retail property across the North East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Sunderland came to 21.9% of gross rates payable, close to the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Sunderland, at 36.2% 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 Sunderland compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in North East, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the North East
Other North East councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Sunderland's £27,791.
- Business rates in Newcastle-upon-Tyne£27,325 average rateable value, £466 lower than Sunderland
- Business rates in Hartlepool UA£26,548 average rateable value, £1,243 lower than Sunderland
- Business rates in North Tyneside£25,570 average rateable value, £2,221 lower than Sunderland
- Business rates in Gateshead£30,038 average rateable value, £2,247 higher than Sunderland
- Business rates in Stockton-on-Tees UA£35,476 average rateable value, £7,685 higher than Sunderland
- Business rates in Northumberland UA£18,066 average rateable value, £9,725 lower than Sunderland
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Sunderland
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