THE April 1 deadline for businesses looking to avoid five years of overpayment on their business rates is now looming warns Southampton accountants and business advisors HWB.

John Linnard, who heads the HWB Expense Control service says most businesses would by now have received a summary from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) outlining how their new rate has been calculated – but large numbers have not challenged the figure.

Business rates are reassessed every five years and calculated by multiplying the property’s rateable value by the uniform business rate set by central Government.