Council tax or business rates: which applies?

If you own or rent out a property on Airbnb in the UK, whether you pay council tax or business rates depends on how the property is used, where it is located, and whether it qualifies as self-catering holiday accommodation.

For a typical Airbnb property in England, the property will generally be liable for council tax unless it qualifies to be assessed as a self-catering holiday let for business rates.

The rules in England are for most self-catering holiday accommodation/properties, the property must meet these conditions:

Available for 140 days

The property must be available to let commercially for at least 140 days in the coming 12 months.

Previously available for 140 days

It must also have been available for commercial letting for at least 140 days in the preceding 12 months.

Actually let for 70 days

It must have been commercially rented out for at least 70 days in the preceding 12 months.

Only when all the eligibility rules have been met can the property be deleted from the Council Tax list and entered into the Non-Domestic Rating (NDR) list from the 140th day.

 You will need to contact the Valuation Office Agency directly on 03000 501501 to discuss a change of use.

If you only let one property in England and its rateable value is less than £15,000, you may be eligible for small business rate relief.

There are other policies that may affect how much you pay - for example, if the property is a second home, you may pay a 100% premium on top of the standard amount (this doesn’t current apply in the Wyre Forest). 

There is more information about the eligibility criteria for remaining in the Business Rates list and how to tell the Valuation Office if your property has met the criteria on GOV.UK