Business rates are payable alongside council tax for a residential property if your business fits any of the following criteria:
- The property is part commercial and part domestic, e.g you live above your shop
- You sell goods or services to people who visit your property
- You employ other people to work at your property
- You’ve made changes to your home for your business, for example converted a garage to a hairdresser’s
If you only use a small portion of your home, such as a room is a home office, or you sell goods by post you will not have to pay business rates unless you also fit one the criteria noted above.
If you are unsure if you should be paying business rates you should contact either the Valuation Office (for England and Wales) or your local assessor (for Scotland).