South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Vale of White Horse
Businesses in Vale of White Horse paid £78.7m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Vale of White Horse
Share of £16.4m total relief, 2025-26.
Vale of White Horse at a glance
Vale of White Horse granted £16.4m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £3.1m in Small Business Rate Relief and £2.3m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £6.2m went to charity relief and £3.2m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Vale of White Horse has an estimated 6,045 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Vale of White Horse ranks 281 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 Vale of White Horse rose by 20.5% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Vale of White Horse?
Vale of White Horse's local authority collected £78.7m 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 Vale of White Horse?
Vale of White Horse granted £16.4m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £3.1m in Small Business Rate Relief, £2.3m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £6.2m in charity relief, and £3.2m 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.
Vale of White Horse compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £48,396£13,100 above the South East average (£35,296)£14,406 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 38.1%5.6 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +25.6%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, Vale of White Horse sits 38th among England's 296 councils at £48,396, which is 12th of 64 in the South East. The largest group of Vale of White Horse's rateable properties is office property (29.6%), yet other commercial property holds the largest share of value (38.1%).
Retail makes up 16.0% of Vale of White Horse's rateable properties and 10.0% of its rateable value, both below the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 60 of Vale of White Horse's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, rising to around 80 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Vale of White Horse's +25.6% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 61 of the 63 other councils in the South East. The sharpest increase in Vale of White Horse was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 32.5% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Vale of White Horse: retail property moved least, up 16.8% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +10.8% for retail property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Vale of White Horse came to 15.6% of gross rates payable, below the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Vale of White Horse, at 37.7% 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 Vale of White Horse 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 Vale of White Horse's £48,396.
- Business rates in Guildford£47,383 average rateable value, £1,013 lower than Vale of White Horse
- Business rates in Eastleigh£46,585 average rateable value, £1,811 lower than Vale of White Horse
- Business rates in Wokingham UA£46,445 average rateable value, £1,951 lower than Vale of White Horse
- Business rates in Tonbridge & Malling£46,025 average rateable value, £2,371 lower than Vale of White Horse
- Business rates in Cherwell£51,814 average rateable value, £3,418 higher than Vale of White Horse
- Business rates in Runnymede£52,461 average rateable value, £4,065 higher than Vale of White Horse
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Vale of White Horse
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