Me and my partner have been doing some research into the possibility of starting to bake cakes from home some time in the future. I think we have sorted most details out, but one thing that still confuses me is business rates. I am not sure if we would be required to pay them and if so how much they would be. So my question to anyone from the UK who bakes from home as a business is: do you pay business rates, and if so, how much? Thanks.

I bake from home, am registered and insured but do not need to pay business rates. My EHO was really helpful about what I needed to do so I suggest speaking to your local food team as they have lots of information about your area.

If you're baking at home (in the kitchen), then the property is your house. You don't need to be assessed for business rates. That only happens if you open a shop, or a stall, or similar.

You will need all the Health & Safety checks doing, as well as making sure your household insurance covers everything. Be wary of public liability insurance as you can easily get ripped off. In my experience, it's extremely unlikely you will ever need it, so shop around and use the cheapest you can. No point in paying un-necessary money over.

What I have read would suggest that we do have to pay business rates. It says about working from home and calculating the cost based on how much of the house you use and how often. Did someone tell you that you dont need to pay?

What I read about business rates was something like this - if you work from home and use a separate area of your house just for your business then you pay rates, so for example if you have converted your garage to be your office then you pay, but if your computer from which you work in is in your living room or bedroom, then you don't. So in terms of baking, if you were to create a separate kitchen from your normal one that you use just for cakes, then you would pay rates but if you were using your normal kitchen to make cakes and for your household use then you don't.