South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Tunbridge Wells
Businesses in Tunbridge Wells paid £59.3m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Tunbridge Wells?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Tunbridge Wells
Share of £14.6m total relief, 2025-26.
Tunbridge Wells at a glance
Tunbridge Wells granted £14.6m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.4m in Small Business Rate Relief and £4.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.0m went to charity relief and £2.1m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Tunbridge Wells has an estimated 6,170 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Tunbridge Wells ranks 219 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 retail property in Tunbridge Wells rose by 0.5% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Tunbridge Wells?
Tunbridge Wells's local authority collected £59.3m 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 Tunbridge Wells?
Tunbridge Wells granted £14.6m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.4m in Small Business Rate Relief, £4.2m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.0m in charity relief, and £2.1m 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.
Tunbridge Wells compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £34,197£1,099 below the South East average (£35,296)£207 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 35.8%3.3 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +13.0%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
Tunbridge Wells comes 101st of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£34,197) and 30th of 64 in the South East. The same sector leads on numbers too: 29.5% of Tunbridge Wells's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail makes up 27.5% of Tunbridge Wells's rateable properties and 28.9% of its rateable value, both above the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 30 of Tunbridge Wells's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 40 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Tunbridge Wells's +13.0% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was weaker than in 58 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Tunbridge Wells was in office property, where total rateable value rose 23.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +16.8% for office property across the South East. No sector fell in Tunbridge Wells: retail property moved least, up 0.5% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Tunbridge Wells came to 19.8% 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 Tunbridge Wells, at 30.2% 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 Tunbridge Wells 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 Tunbridge Wells's £34,197.
- Business rates in Fareham£34,183 average rateable value, £14 lower than Tunbridge Wells
- Business rates in Buckinghamshire UA£34,402 average rateable value, £205 higher than Tunbridge Wells
- Business rates in Swale£34,409 average rateable value, £212 higher than Tunbridge Wells
- Business rates in Portsmouth UA£33,850 average rateable value, £347 lower than Tunbridge Wells
- Business rates in Mole Valley£33,505 average rateable value, £692 lower than Tunbridge Wells
- Business rates in Hart£35,179 average rateable value, £982 higher than Tunbridge Wells
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Tunbridge Wells
By email.