Business rates explained 2026 to 2027
From 1 April 2026, 5 new national business rates multipliers will apply. These introduce lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties. Replacing the previous retail rate relief scheme.
Who is eligible
Eligibility is based on how a property is used. The lower multiplier will be applied automatically, where we believe the criteria has been met.
How property usage has been determined
We have determined property usage using publicly available information, including:
- internet searches
- business websites
- Companies House records
If you believe your property has been incorrectly assessed
Only occupied properties qualify for the retail, hospitality, and leisure multiplier.
If you believe your property has been incorrectly assessed or if your circumstances have changed please contact the Business Rates Team as soon as possible. We will then review your account.
You can call us on 020 7974 6460 or email us at [email protected]
Be prepared to evidence a request, where it cannot be verified currently online.
Business rates multipliers for 2026 to 2027
| Property type | Rateable value | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Small business - Retail, hospitality and leisure | Below £51,000 | 38.2p |
| Small business - Other properties | Below £51,000 | 43.2p |
| Standard - Retail, hospitality and leisure | £51,000 to £499,999 | 43p |
| Standard - Other properties | £51,000 to £499,999 | 48p |
| High value properties - all uses | £500,000 and above | 50.8p |
Important changes to your Business Rates bill in 2026-27
From 1 April 2026, there will be significant changes to how your Business Rates charge is calculated. These changes may affect the amount you pay.
Key summary of changes
- Autumn Budget 2025 business rate relief package
- Retail, hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) ends on 31 March 2026
- New non-domestic rates multipliers to be introduced from 1 April 2026
- Revaluation 2026
- Pub and live music venue relief
- Crossrail
Autumn Budget 2025 business rates relief package
The Chancellor announced a package of measures in her November budget, which provide support to businesses in England. These included:
- Non-domestic rates multipliers for 2026/27
- Transitional relief scheme
- Supporting small business scheme
- Extending the small business rate relief grace period
- 100% relief for eligible electric vehicle charging points and electric vehicle only forecourts
Business rates multipliers: qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure from 2026
In the Autumn Budget in 2024, the Government announced that from 1 April 2026, it would replace the retail, hospitality and leisure relief scheme with two lower business rates multipliers for those properties in these categories with rateable values below £500,000.
You can check to see if your property will receive the lower RHL multiplier by going to Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure.
The 2025/26 retail, hospitality & leisure relief scheme will end on 31 March 2026.
Revaluation and transitional schemes
Every three years, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updates the rateable values of over 2 million commercial properties in England and Wales. This process is called a revaluation. It is intended to ensure business rates reflect changes in the property market.
The next revaluation comes into effect on 1 April 2026, using market values determined as of 1 April 2024 and your bill for the new rating year that commences on 1 April 2026 will be based on this.
The VOA publishes the rating list and the new 2026 list can be viewed at the Valuation Office Agency.
Transitional relief
Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change each year as a result of business rates revaluation.
You'll get transitional relief if your business rates bill goes up or down by more than a certain percentage. This means changes to your bill will be phased in gradually.
We will adjust your bill automatically if you're eligible.
If your bill is increasing from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029
| Rateable value | 2026 to 2027 | 2027 to 2028 | 2028 to 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London) | 5% | 10% plus inflation | 25% plus inflation |
| £20,001 (£28,000 in London) to £100,000 | 15% | 25% plus inflation | 40% plus inflation |
| Over £100,000 | 30% | 25% plus inflation | 25% plus inflation |
Transitional relief supplement
A 1p supplement to the relevant tax rate for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business scheme to partially fund the Transitional Relief scheme.
This will apply for one year from 1 April 2026.
Supporting small business scheme (SSB26)
Bill increases for businesses losing some or all their small business rates relief will be capped at the higher limit of £800 or based on the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026.
The SSB26 relief scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their RHL relief.
The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 Supporting Small Business scheme from 1 April 2026.
This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements are applied.
Extending the small business rate relief grace period
Businesses will now keep their Small Business Rates Relief on their first property for three years after they take on a second property, instead of just one year.
Pubs and live music venues relief
Central Government has introduced a relief for pubs and live music venues from the 2026/27 financial year, which will reduce their business rates by an additional 15%.
The relief has been automatically granted to business that should qualify, however if you believe that you do qualify and the relief has not been applied please email [email protected] , quoting your account number in the subject field, giving reasons why you qualify under the following criteria:
Pubs
Relief will only be awarded to those pubs which meet all the following characteristics:
- open to the public
- allows free entry other than when occasional entertainment is provided
- allows drinking without requiring food to be consumed
- permit drinks to be purchased at a bar
The following types of businesses do not qualify:
- restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, snack bars
- hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses
- sporting venues
- festival sites, theatres, cinemas
- museums, exhibition halls
- casinos
Live music venues
- Live music venues are properties that are:
- wholly or mainly used for the performance of live music for the purpose of entertaining an audience
can be used for other activities but only if those other activities are:
1. ancillary or incidental to the performance of live music (e.g. the sale of food or drink to audience members)
2. do not affect the primary use of the premises for the performance of live music (e.g. because the activities are infrequent such as use of the venue as a polling station or fortnightly community event)
Properties are not a live music venue for the purpose of this relief if the property is wholly or mainly used as a nightclub or a theatre, for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended).
Crossrail Business Rates Supplement
The Rateable Value threshold for Crossrail Business Rates Supplement has increased from £75,000 to £92,000 from 1 April 2026.
The Crossrail multiplier remains unchanged at £0.02 in the £1.00.