Business rates on a lock up garage

Do any of you guys own lock up garages and if so do you pay business rates on the unit? Particularly looking at garages that have been bought on behalf of the business not ones you own as a residential person and happen to stick your van and or some tools in.

Had one years ago that i rented for another business, never paid business rates on it jut paid each month for rent. so unless things have changed then no you shouldn't have to pay rates.

The new thing that's in vogue is shop in a box. It involves a site full of steel containers and you can rent one or part of one. Short leases and cheap as chips to rent and usually in the middle of town. I've been reading about them and wish I came up with the simple idea.

scottish cleaning service said:

The new thing that's in vogue is shop in a box. It involves a site full of steel containers and you can rent one or part of one. Short leases and cheap as chips to rent and usually in the middle of town. I've been reading about them and wish I came up with the simple idea.

Click to expand...

My pal has been doing it for 15 years, doubt you'll get a van in one though

Cleanteam South west said:

Had one years ago that i rented for another business, never paid business rates on it jut paid each month for rent. so unless things have changed then no you shouldn't have to pay rates.

Click to expand...

I've had a look at it and there is a lot of conflicting stories about them. Some of them seem to be declared 0 value if you are not trading directly from the unit so seem to be charged it. Did you ask for a business rates appraisal?

scottish cleaning service said:

The new thing that's in vogue is shop in a box. It involves a site full of steel containers and you can rent one or part of one. Short leases and cheap as chips to rent and usually in the middle of town. I've been reading about them and wish I came up with the simple idea.

Click to expand...

Not really looking at the cost of lease etc just the cost of business rates on a building either owned or rented. 

Part Timer said:

My pal has been doing it for 15 years, doubt you'll get a van in one though

Click to expand...

I'm thinking a garage that will fit a medium sized van like a Berlingo. When I bought my wife's car the guy was in a shared office. Really strange set up for a car sales place but he basically rented his shared office space and extra car parking spots. Definitely not what I was thinking about!

there wont be any rates on one,

what do you need it for?

Teaboy said:

there wont be any rates on one,

what do you need it for?

Click to expand...

Sorry @Teaboy, didn't spot this. What do I need it for? Have you ever seen breaking bad? ???

On a serious note though i'm just not blessed with much parking. We currently park the car half on the kerb and the van on the driveway. I have a 16 year old son who will be hopefully learning to drive soon, I intend to get myself a car at some point etc. I was thinking that once I go limited the company could purchase a lock up. The cost could then be offset against tax 

If there are no business rates to pay then this seemed like a solution to continue working from home. I've found mixed advice about this online, plumbers and electricians seem to have asked the same question and everyone seems to have a different answer. It would seem each area has its own rules. Because the van leaves that place each day to complete work some say that constitutes trading from there. On the other hand some have their buildings declared 0 value as it is not not open for customers. I can see both arguments just wondered if anyone had any experience of it first hand.

If business rates are applicable then I would be better to just buy a garage as a personal expense and not bringing the business into the scenario

I've had a call back from the local council on this today. Thought I would post incase anyone has a similar question in the future.

The basics of what he said was....

If a limited company purchases any sort of premises and retains ownership as a business (Registers the property as a business asset and claims it as a taxable expense) they are liable to pay business rates unless they register the premises as out of service. It is a criminal offence to register this if you are actually using it in the same way it would be to claim your house was empty to avoid paying council tax.

If a sole trader purchases a building they keep it as a personal asset. As a garage or lock up isn't directly trading and could be used for personal use it would usually be declared 0 value. He did say it would be worth asking HMRC directly if you could claim the cost of the garage as a taxable expense. Given that it's an asset that would potentially grow in value over time I doubt you could claim it all.

I have 2 offices and we dont pay business rates, on either it comes down to the size of the unit,

Teaboy said:

I have 2 offices and we dont pay business rates, on either it comes down to the size of the unit,

Click to expand...

I thinks its more to do with the local council mate. If you get a bunch of new people in their office don't be surprised if they come a calling. To the letter of the law the units have a value and therefore are eligible to be charged business rates. Some local councils don't 0 value anything, others 0 value a lot to try and drive local trade ?‍

you do know you get relief on anything below £12k, just to confirm rateable value has nothing to do with the property value

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief

Teaboy said:

you do know you get relief on anything below £12k, just to confirm rateable value has nothing to do with the property value

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief

Click to expand...

Nope... I know naff all mate. I'm literally only speaking from what i've found online and what the guy told me today. Like anything government based it isn't just simple to understand. The guy this morning was talking jargon at me as if I understood (rateable values etc). The above is what I got from him and my online research. I imagine just like Council tax there will be a minimum fee so if they decide to value it above 12k then you would pay the lowest rate if business rates for your area?

I am assuming again just like council tax we are referring to the property value. The going rate for a garage round here is 15k so if they decide the value it then the minimum bill would be due?

The rateable value on my office block is £12k its value to buy is £195k

Think of rateable value like a council tax for business, if you are getting anything one man band like garage small workshop etc you will have no business rates to pay

Costs are

Insurance

utilities

phone?

kitting it out??

Teaboy said:

The rateable value on my office block is £12k its value to buy is £195k

Think of rateable value like a council tax for business, if you are getting anything one man band like garage small workshop etc you will have no business rates to pay

Costs are

Insurance

utilities

phone?

kitting it out??

Click to expand...

Had a lengthy conversation with a customer today about this. He has built his own property on land his family owned for years and he rents out units and buildings on the rest of the land.

He seemed to understand this but still couldn't help me completely get it. The basics of what he told me is...

There is a limit in terms of physical size which means a garage the size I am referring to would never be charged anything. It's ''rateable value'' would always be less than 12k. If the guy from the council had just explained this I would have got that straight away.

He also said it depends on where you rent a unit, every type of place has different rules. Shops have one rule, industrial units and farms another. Finally something I hadn't thought about. As the building is an asset which can be sold on at a later date the purchase cost of it is not tax deductible.

With regards to my costs I was literally looking at a garage to park in so Utilities, phone etc wouldn't be applicable. If I decide to get a garage somewhere i'll do it on a personal level and just park the van there I reckon.