Rate relief for charities and non-profit making organisations

1Using the form

2Declaration

3About the business

4Correspondence address

5About the property

6About the relief

7About the charity or organisation

8Extra aid

9Accounts

10Other information

Use this form to apply for rate relief for charities and non-profit making organisations. This form must be completed by the ratepayer or someone authorised to do so on their behalf.

This form will ask you to provide

your name and position within the organisation
your business rates account reference
your business name, address and contact details
correspondence address (if different from your current business address)
what the property is being used for
charity commissioners registration number, if applicable
the type of relief you are applying for (mandatory, discretionary or both)
the main objectives and purpose of the organisation
HMRC registration number, if applicable
the benefits of the organisation to the community, facilities and membership criteria
if the organisation receives extra aid, how much and proof of this
total income/expenditure for the year and reason for surplus/deficit
total reserves and details of intended use

If you are applying for discretionary relief, the following documents may need to be uploaded with your application

a copy of the memorandum and articles of association or rules of the association or a link to the website where this information can be accessed and
a copy of your last audited accounts and balance sheets

Please have this information ready as pages time-out after one hour.

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Privacy Statement

To provide this service Thanet District Council will collect and process personal information. We may check some of the information with other sources (e.g. government departments and other councils) to verify your identity and ensure that the information you have provided is accurate.

Your personal information is being processed because it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

Please refer to our Corporate Privacy Notice for further details on how we process your personal information and your rights. This is also available in other formats (e.g. print).

Declaration

Please check the box below to confirm that you have read, understand and agree to the following statements before completing this form:

I confirm the information that I will give on this form will be correct and true.
I confirm that I will notify you of any relevant changes that could result in an amendment to this relief within 21 days of the change.
I understand that if I give information that is false this could lead to a penalty or legal proceedings being taken against me.
I understand my data may be shared with other departments as permitted by law.
I confirm I am the ratepayer or someone authorised to accept this declaration on the ratepayer's behalf.

Declaration(Required)

I understand and accept the above declaration

Your name(Required)

Position in organisation(Required)

For example, secretary, treasurer, rating agent, accountant

The reason for completing this form?(Required)

New application for rate relief for charities and non-profit making organisations

Review of existing rate relief for charities and non-profit making organisations application

About the business

Business rates account reference(Required)

You can find this on your business rates bill

Name of company/organisation(Required)

HMRC registration number (if applicable)

Contact phone number(Required)

Business email address(Required)

Enter email address Confirm email address

Would you like to receive your business rates bills by email?(Required)

You can receive your business rates bills by email rather than post. We will send all future business rates bills to the email address you have given above. If you change your email address you must let us know straight away. You can opt out of this at any time at thanet.gov.uk/paperlessrates

Yes

Address of the property for which you are applying

Postcode of the property for which you are applying(Required)

Search Postcode

Addresses

Select the address from the list or manually enter the address.

Hidden

address(Required)

Address(Required)

House name or number Address line 1 Address line 2 Town or city Postcode

Correspondence address

Is the correspondence address the same as the address for which you are applying?(Required)

Yes

Postcode(Required)

Search Postcode

Addresses

Select the address from the list or manually enter the address.

Hidden

address(Required)

Address(Required)

House name or number Address line 1 Address line 2 Town or city Postcode

About the property

Is the property being used as a charity gift shop?(Required)

Yes

What is the property being used for?(Required)

Is the premises wholly or mainly used for the sale of goods donated to the charity?(Required)

Yes

Are the proceeds from sales (after deductions of expenses) applied for the purpose of the charity?(Required)

Yes

Is the property being used by anyone other than the applicant (the person applying for this relief)?(Required)

Yes

Please provide details about who else is using the property and what for(Required)

Type of relief

Mandatory relief

This is 80% relief available to Charities registered with The Charity Commission, schools with Academy status, Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) and some other charitable organisations.

Discretionary relief

Up to 20% relief to ‘top up’ mandatory relief or up to 100% relief for organisations such as Community Interest Companies or similar organisations, such as Not for Profits.

Are you applying for mandatory or discretionary relief, or both?(Required)

Mandatory relief

Discretionary relief

Mandatory and discretionary relief

Discretionary relief

Information to consider when completing your application for discretionary relief:

The council has set criteria it looks at when considering whether or not an organisation is eligible for discretionary relief. Some organisations will automatically qualify for the maximum amount. This is usually because these organisations provide a significant benefit to the local community and fully meet the Council’s corporate objectives or policy intent.

All other organisations applying for discretionary relief will have their applications scored based on the guidelines set out in the Business Rates Discretionary Relief policy. We will look at the following:

How well do your organisation's objectives align with the Corporate Priorities of the Council?
How easy is it for users to access the services provided by your organisation and is access affordable?
Do the services provided by the organisation compliment services provided by the Council, or do they relinquish the need for the Council to provide those services? Are there any alternative providers in the area of the services provided by the organisation?
What proportion of the Council’s community benefit from the service provision?
Where does funding for your organisation come from and the organisation’s ability to meet the business rates payments due?

You should consider these guidelines when completing your application.

If you are applying for discretionary relief and your organisation does not automatically receive maximum relief, the following documents should be attached with your application:

a copy of the memorandum and articles of association or rules of the organisation. If these can be found on your website, please provide the link below.
copies of the last audited accounts and balance sheets. If audited accounts are not available, because your organisation is new, you should provide any financial plans and/or forecasts.

In order for your application to be considered, you need to attach the required documents to this form or provide us with a link to a website where these documents can be accessed.

You must provide all the proof we ask for so we can make a decision on your application.

Website site link to the memorandum and articles of association or rules of the association

Upload a copy of the memorandum and articles of association or rules of the association

Drop files here or

Max. file size: 15 MB, Max. files: 5.

Upload copies of the audited accounts and balance sheets or financial plans and/or forecasts(Required)

Drop files here or

Max. file size: 15 MB, Max. files: 5.

About the charity or organisation

Is it registered with the Charity Commissioners?(Required)

Yes

Not applicable

Charity registration number(Required)

If your charity or organisation is exempt from registration with the Charity Commissioners, please tell us why(Required)

Please provide the company number, if applicable

What are the main objectives and purposes of the charity or organisation?(Required)

Is it a registered Community Amateur Sports Club?(Required)

Yes

Please provide your HMRC registration number(Required)

Organisations that fall into the following categories are automatically eligible for the maximum amount of discretionary relief applicable. If you are one of these organisations and you are using this property, please indicate this below:(Required)

Please select all relevant categories that apply to your organisation

Eligible organisations managing divested functions on behalf of the Council

Hospices caring for terminally ill residents of the Council where the primary funding is not from the NHS

Local Groups running Community Centres

Locally affiliated branches of National Charities eg Citizens Advice Bureau, which have their own registered Charity number and specifically serve members of the local community

Trustees of Village Halls or playing fields

Uniformed youth and children’s groups (such as Scouts or Guides)

None of the above

If your organisation falls into one of these categories, you won’t need to provide any more information with your application. If you do need to provide anything further, we will contact you.

How does the local community benefit from the service your organisation provides?(Required)

Is membership open to all sections of the community?(Required)

Yes

Do you charge for access to the services you provide?(Required)

Yes

Please give details of these charges and how you arrive at the cost to service users(Required)

Does the organisation run a bar?(Required)

Yes

Please confirm the percentage of the organisation's annual income that comes from the bar takings(Required)

Are the facilities made available to people other than members for example schools, casual public sessions and others?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us who uses these facilities and how often they are used(Required)

Does the organisation provide training or education for its members?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us the type of training or education provided and how it is delivered(Required)

Are there schemes for particular groups to develop their skills for example young, disabled or retired people?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us what the schemes are, who benefits from them and how they are delivered(Required)

Does the organisation provide facilities or a service that the Council would otherwise be required to provide?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us what service you provide instead of the Council. If there is a formal agreement with the Council for you to provide these services, please provide details(Required)

Is the organisation affiliated to local or national organisations?(Required)

Yes

Is the organisation under independent control of that local or national organisation or are they a direct subsidiary of that group?(Required)

Independent control

Direct subsidiary

Does your organisation provide a service that someone else in the area also provides?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us who else provides the same or similar services to your organisation and let us know the details of any services that are unique to your organisation(Required)

Extra aid

Does your organisation receive any extra aid?(Required)

For example central or local government grants, lottery funding or a contribution from national affiliation

Yes

You must give details of all grants or aid received in the last 12 months, and any anticipated or promised future aid(Required)

Please provide proof of this extra aid(Required)

Drop files here or

Max. file size: 15 MB, Max. files: 5.

Accounts

Please complete the following questions according to your most recent set of accounts

Income and expenditure

Total income for the year(Required)

Total expenditure for the year(Required)

Is there a surplus/deficit at the end of the past year?(Required)

Yes

Amount of surplus/deficit at the end of the past year(Required)

Reason for surplus/deficit(Required)

Is the amount of surplus/deficit more or less than average for your organisation?(Required)

More than average

Less than average

Are there any factors that have influenced this figure that we need to be aware of?(Required)

Yes

Please tell us about these influencing factors(Required)

Based on your average running costs, please confirm how much it costs to run your service on an annual basis. If you expect this figure to change in the future, please also tell us about this.(Required)

Reserves

Total amount of restricted reserves(Required)

Total amount of unrestricted reserves(Required)

Total reserves(Required)

If you are building up reserves for a special purpose, please provide details and the estimated cost

If you have over six months running costs in your unrestricted reserves, please give details of your policy for intended use

Other information

Please use this box to tell us any other information.

If you have no further information to give, leave this box blank

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Staff ID

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