South East · 2025-26
Business Rates in Worthing
Businesses in Worthing paid £27.9m in net business rates during 2025-26, below the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Worthing
Share of £9.8m total relief, 2025-26.
Worthing at a glance
Worthing granted £9.8m in relief overall, lower than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £4.0m in Small Business Rate Relief and £1.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £3.5m went to charity relief and £0.4m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Worthing has an estimated 3,930 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Worthing ranks 186 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 Worthing rose by 18.4% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Worthing?
Worthing's local authority collected £27.9m 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 Worthing?
Worthing granted £9.8m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £4.0m in Small Business Rate Relief, £1.7m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £3.5m in charity relief, and £0.4m 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.
Worthing compared with the South East and England
- Average rateable value
- £23,530£11,766 below the South East average (£35,296)£10,460 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 33.4%in line with its 32.5% share in the South East
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +17.6%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, Worthing sits 209th among England's 296 councils at £23,530, which is 53rd of 64 in the South East. The largest group of Worthing's rateable properties is retail property (38.8%), yet other commercial property holds the largest share of value (33.4%).
Retail makes up 38.8% of Worthing's rateable properties and 32.4% of its rateable value, both above the 22.5% and 20.7% across the South East. At March 2026, around 20 of Worthing's rateable properties had a rateable value of £500,000 or more, unchanged at around 20 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Worthing's +17.6% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the South East: stronger than in 38 of the 63 other councils and weaker than in 23. The sharpest increase in Worthing was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 18.8% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +26.7% for other commercial property across the South East. No sector fell in Worthing: industrial property moved least, up 14.5% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +19.9% for industrial property across the South East.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Worthing came to 23.6% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Small Business Rate Relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Worthing, at 41.1% 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 Worthing 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 Worthing's £23,530.
- Business rates in East Hampshire£23,463 average rateable value, £67 lower than Worthing
- Business rates in Adur£23,182 average rateable value, £348 lower than Worthing
- Business rates in Canterbury£23,956 average rateable value, £426 higher than Worthing
- Business rates in Chichester£24,023 average rateable value, £493 higher than Worthing
- Business rates in Gosport£24,369 average rateable value, £839 higher than Worthing
- Business rates in Tandridge£22,256 average rateable value, £1,274 lower than Worthing
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Worthing
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