Business rates are the property tax on non-domestic premises such as shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories. To work out your bill, take the property's rateable value, multiply it by the government's multiplier and deduct any reliefs. In England for 2026/27, the multipliers are 43.2p for rateable values below £51,000, 48p from £51,000 to £499,999, and 50.8p for £500,000 and above. Qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties pay a lower 38.2p or 43p. Small business rate relief wipes out the bill entirely where the rateable value is £12,000 or less. All of this applies to new rateable values from the revaluation that took effect on 1 April 2026.
How business rates are calculated
- Rateable value. The Valuation Office (VO) estimates the open market annual rent of the property at a fixed valuation date. For the 2026 list, that date is 1 April 2024;
- Multiplier. The council multiplies the rateable value by the multiplier for your property's band;
- Reliefs. The council deducts any reliefs you qualify for, such as small business rate relief, transitional relief or charitable relief.
Councils issue bills in February or March for the year starting 1 April. Bills are payable in 10 monthly instalments by default, but you have the right to ask for 12. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems. Wales sets its own multipliers, and the City of London uses different multipliers from the rest of England.
Business rates multipliers 2026/27 (England)
April 2026 replaced the old two-multiplier system with five multipliers. The figures below come from the government's business rates estimate guidance and the multiplier notice sent to councils:
| Rateable value | Most properties | Qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure |
|---|---|---|
| Below £51,000 | 43.2p (small business multiplier) | 38.2p |
| £51,000 to £499,999 | 48p (standard multiplier) | 43p |
| £500,000 and above | 50.8p (high-value multiplier) | |
For comparison, the 2025/26 multipliers were 55.5p (standard) and 49.9p (small business). The multipliers have fallen, but the new rateable values from the 2026 revaluation may have risen. A lower multiplier therefore does not always mean a lower bill.
The retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) multipliers replace the RHL relief that applied up to 2025/26. You can no longer make new claims for that relief. Unlike the old relief, the new multipliers have no cash cap, so every qualifying property with a rateable value under £500,000 benefits, including each site in a chain. Your council decides whether your property qualifies. A business that received RHL relief in 2025/26 will usually qualify.
Illustrations only, before reliefs: an office with a rateable value of £30,000 pays £30,000 × 0.432 = £12,960. A café with the same rateable value pays £30,000 × 0.382 = £11,460. A dental surgery with a rateable value of £60,000 pays £60,000 × 0.48 = £28,800.
Small business rate relief
Small business rate relief is set out in the Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (England) Regulations 2023. It applies where your business occupies only one property, or meets the extra-property tests below:
- Rateable value £12,000 or less. 100% relief, so there is nothing to pay;
- £12,001 to £15,000. Relief tapers from 100% to nil. For example, £13,500 gets 50% and £14,000 gets about a third;
- Over £15,000. No relief, but properties below £51,000 still use the lower small business multiplier.
If you take on a second property, you keep relief on the main property for 36 months where you took it on or after 27 November 2025. The period was 12 months for earlier occupations. After that, relief continues only if each additional property has a rateable value of £2,899 or less and the combined rateable value is under £20,000, or £28,000 in London.
You must tell the council if you take on another property or your circumstances change. Relief removed retrospectively creates a backdated bill.
Revaluation, transitional relief and supporting small business relief
The 1 April 2026 revaluation gave every property in England and Wales a new rateable value. Two schemes soften the impact:
- Transitional relief. This limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of the revaluation, so that increases are phased in gradually;
- Supporting small business relief. This applies to ratepayers whose bills rose because the revaluation cost them some or all of their small business rate relief, rural rate relief or RHL relief. Their increase for 2026/27 is limited to £800 or the transitional relief caps, whichever is greater.
Other reliefs include charitable relief, rural rate relief, and relief for pubs and live music venues. Check the full list on the government's business rates relief pages. Some are applied automatically, but others you have to apply to the council for.
Checking and challenging your bill
- Check the rateable value. Use the VO's online service to see your 2026 rateable value and how it was worked out. Compare it with similar properties nearby;
- Report changes. If your floor area changes, or you merge, split or sublet part of the premises, report it through your business rates valuation account. Reporting them avoids a backdated increase in your bill later;
- Challenge the value. If you think the rateable value is wrong, challenge it through the same account. You can do this yourself or use a rating surveyor bound by the VO's agent standards;
- Check the multiplier and reliefs. Make sure the council has used the right multiplier band, especially the RHL multipliers, and has applied every relief you are entitled to.
If you use a building, or part of one, for non-domestic purposes, you will probably have to pay business rates. Before you take on premises, budget for rates at the new 2026 rateable value rather than the previous occupier's bill, and check the lease for how rates are dealt with. For the wider tax picture on buying or leasing premises, see our guide to the sale and purchase of business premises.
Acumon's management accounts service builds the 2026 rates position into budgets and cash flow, and our accountants for small businesses can check that the right reliefs are claimed.