Good news on business rates for museums + deadline for 2017 appeals

This article was first published by National Museum Directors’ Council.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has finally accepted the use of Receipts and Expenditure (R&E) method to calculate business rates for all types of museums in England and Wales, which will save hundreds of thousands of pounds across the sector.

This follows the announcement in September 2021, after a successful appeal by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) against valuations for three of its sites, that the VOA would no longer be using Contractor’s method to calculate business rates for many museums. However the VOA had proposed to continue the use of Contractor’s method for museums set up by statute (so including most national museums) and those occupying ‘modern’ (post-2001) buildings.

The VOA has now confirmed a change in this policy, meaning that the vast majority of museums will now be valued using R&E method. This means that business rates will be based on a museum’s activity and financial position – rather than being penalised, as a sector, for occupying the large spaces needed to care for and display collections and to welcome communities, which are often expensive to operate and maintain. The change will result in huge long-term savings across the whole museum sector.

@UK_ICOM