South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Swale
Businesses in Swale paid £62.2m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Swale
Share of £17.3m total relief, 2025-26.
Swale at a glance
Swale granted £17.3m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £6.6m in Small Business Rate Relief and £2.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.5m went to charity relief and £1.9m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Swale has an estimated 5,225 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Swale ranks 62 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 Swale rose by 18.1% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Swale?
Swale's local authority collected £62.2m 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 Swale?
Swale granted £17.3m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £6.6m in Small Business Rate Relief, £2.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.5m in charity relief, and £1.9m 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.
Swale compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £34,409£887 below the South East average (£35,296)£419 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Industrial property, 52.3%22.3 percentage points above its 30.0% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +17.4%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
On average rateable value, Swale sits 98th among England's 296 councils at £34,409, which is 28th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 35.2% of Swale's rateable properties fall in the industrial category.
Retail makes up 20.2% of Swale's rateable properties and 14.3% of its rateable value, both below the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 40 of Swale's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 50 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Swale's +17.4% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the South East: stronger than in 36 of the 63 other councils and weaker than in 26. The sharpest increase in Swale was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 20.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Swale: office property moved least, up 10.2% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +16.8% for office property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Swale came to 19.6% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Swale, at 38.4% 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 Swale 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 Swale's £34,409.
- Business rates in Buckinghamshire UA£34,402 average rateable value, £7 lower than Swale
- Business rates in Test Valley£34,461 average rateable value, £52 higher than Swale
- Business rates in Tunbridge Wells£34,197 average rateable value, £212 lower than Swale
- Business rates in Fareham£34,183 average rateable value, £226 lower than Swale
- Business rates in Portsmouth UA£33,850 average rateable value, £559 lower than Swale
- Business rates in Hart£35,179 average rateable value, £770 higher than Swale
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Swale
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