East of England · 2025-26
Business Rates in Watford
Businesses in Watford paid £65.0m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
Are you paying too much in Watford?
Check your rateable value and relief eligibility in about 60 seconds. Free, no sign-up.
Relief granted in Watford
Share of £13.0m total relief, 2025-26.
Watford at a glance
Watford granted £13.0m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £2.5m in Small Business Rate Relief and £3.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £4.2m went to charity relief and £2.5m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Watford has an estimated 5,015 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Watford ranks 181 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 Watford rose by 28.5% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Watford?
Watford's local authority collected £65.0m 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 Watford?
Watford granted £13.0m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £2.5m in Small Business Rate Relief, £3.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £4.2m in charity relief, and £2.5m 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.
Watford compared with the East of England and England
- Average rateable value
- £53,441£21,306 above the East of England average (£32,135)£19,451 above the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Office property, 26.4%12.7 percentage points above its 13.7% share in the East of England
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +21.7%East of England: +18.3%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
With an average rateable value of £53,441, Watford has the 27th highest figure of England's 296 councils and 7th of 45 in the East of England. Retail property makes up the largest share of Watford's rateable properties (31.5%), but office property carries the most rateable value (26.4%).
Shops and other retail property account for 31.5% of Watford's rateable properties and 25.4% of its value, higher than the 20.6% and 18.7% across the East of England. High-value property is limited in Watford: around 50 properties were rated at £500,000 or more at March 2026, rising to around 60 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Only 4 of the 44 other councils in the East of England saw a stronger change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation than Watford's +21.7%. Industrial property saw the biggest rise in Watford: total rateable value up 28.5% between the 2023 and 2026 lists, against +20.2% for industrial property across the East of England. Even the weakest sector in Watford, office property, rose 15.7% in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation, against +13.2% for office property across the East of England.
Reliefs
Total relief granted in Watford equalled 15.2% of gross rates payable in 2025-26, below the 21.2% across English councils taken together. Of the four main reliefs, charity relief accounted for the most in Watford: 32.3% of the total, above the England figure of 29.7%.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Watford compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in East of England, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the East of England
Other East of England councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Watford's £53,441.
- Business rates in Hertsmere£54,139 average rateable value, £698 higher than Watford
- Business rates in South Cambridgeshire£50,659 average rateable value, £2,782 lower than Watford
- Business rates in Three Rivers£56,444 average rateable value, £3,003 higher than Watford
- Business rates in Harlow£48,362 average rateable value, £5,079 lower than Watford
- Business rates in Welwyn Hatfield£61,945 average rateable value, £8,504 higher than Watford
- Business rates in Cambridge£83,087 average rateable value, £29,646 higher than Watford
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Watford
By email.