Greater Manchester businesses overpaying business rates by £44 million

One in nine small businesses in Greater Manchester are paying too much business rate tax, according to Businessratechecker.com, with Rochdale posting the worst overpayment rate in England. The findings come as higher rateable values and new multipliers continue to raise pressure on businesses across England.

Why it matters: - Greater Manchester businesses are overpaying an estimated £44 million a year in business rates. - That is about 5% of the area’s total business rate take. - The findings point to money that small businesses may be able to reclaim at a time of rising tax pressure.

What happened: - Businessratechecker.com said one in nine small businesses across the Greater Manchester Area are paying too much business rate tax. - The research covers almost 108,000 businesses across the ten-borough region. - About 11,800 businesses are estimated to be overpaying their bills. - The typical overpayment is £1,227 a year per property. - The range runs from hundreds of pounds to tens of thousands of pounds per property. - Rochdale posted the worst overpayment rate in England, with 15.2% of businesses overcharged. - That means one in seven commercial properties in Rochdale is paying too much.

The details: - Rochdale has 8,607 commercial properties registered in the area. - Businessratechecker.com estimates 1,308 properties in Rochdale are overcharged. - The combined overpayment in Rochdale is £2.9 million a year. - The average overcharge in Rochdale is £2,217 per property annually. - Other Greater Manchester boroughs also showed elevated overcharging rates: Salford at 13.5%, Wigan at 10.4%, Bolton at 11.2%, Trafford at 11.0%, Bury at 10.3%, Oldham at 11.4%, Stockport at 10.4% and Tameside at 12.1%. - Manchester was the best performer in the region, with 8.7% of businesses potentially overcharged. - Businessratechecker.com said that is roughly one in eleven businesses. - The research says Rochdale’s overcharging rate is about three times the level seen in the best-performing councils, including Cheshire East, Barking & Dagenham and Stevenage, where 5% of properties are overcharged. - The ranking compares each property’s rate per square metre and zoning rates published by the Valuation Office Agency against nearby comparable properties in the same use class and valuation scheme. - The company said its AI-powered decision engine also checks floor areas and other measures. - Tolerance bands are included so marginal cases are not counted. - The company monitors 1.9 million commercial properties in 296 boroughs in England and records more than 250 million data points updated every week. - Businessratechecker.com said it uses data from the Valuation Office Agency and other government and non-government sources.

Between the lines: - The overcharging is tied to outdated records, including floor plans, commercial rental rates and other inputs. - The issue also affects trading data used for pubs and some leisure businesses. - The company says overcharging should not be viewed as bad faith by councils. - Business owners are responsible for checking details and challenging council assumptions when bills appear wrong. - Rupert Spiegelberg, CEO of Businessratechecker.com, said businesses in Greater Manchester are overpaying thousands of pounds a year without realising it. - Spiegelberg also said the money is reclaimable and argued there is no excuse not to reclaim it, noting that more than half of claims are awarded by the Valuation Office Agency. - Across the UK, the government raises about £30 billion a year from business rates. - Half of that stays with councils and half goes into a central redistribution pot. - Businessratechecker.com estimates almost £1 billion of business rates are overpaid in England. - Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales use different valuation schemes and are not included in the estimate. - Business rates are the sixth-largest pool of government revenue in the UK after Council Tax, Corporation Tax, Value Added Tax, National Insurance and Income Tax. - The current pressure comes after one of the largest rises in April 2026, when the government updated commercial rental values, introduced new multipliers and ended some reliefs. - HM Revenue & Customs’ Valuation Office Agency data showed rateable values rose by about 19% per square meter on average. - Pubs and hospitality venues saw average rates rise by 70%, according to the same data.

What's next: - Businessratechecker.com points businesses to its full borough ranking at the full ranking. - The company says businesses can challenge incorrect valuations and seek refunds where overcharging is identified. - The broader pressure on business rates is likely to keep claims and scrutiny focused on local tax bills.

The bottom line: - Greater Manchester businesses may be leaving tens of millions of pounds unclaimed in overpaid rates, with Rochdale standing out as the worst-hit borough.