Business rates in 2026 have changed more significantly than at any point in the last decade. The April 2026 revaluation reset rateable values across all commercial properties in England and Wales, and a new five-multiplier system replaced the previous two-multiplier structure. This wasn't just a minor technical update — for many businesses, the combination of higher property valuations and the restructured multiplier system fundamentally altered their annual bills.
This comprehensive guide is designed for every UK business occupier, landlord, and property manager who needs to understand how business rates work in 2026. Whether your bill went up, down, or stayed roughly the same, understanding the mechanics of the system — the rateable value, the multiplier, the reliefs you may qualify for, and your options to challenge — is essential to ensuring you're not overpaying. We'll walk through the changes, explain how to calculate your bill, help you identify if your property might be overvalued, and show you exactly how to challenge your rates through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process. By the end of this guide, you'll have a complete picture of where you stand and what you can do about it.
What are business rates?
Business rates are an annual property tax levied on non-residential buildings in the UK. They are paid by the occupier — typically the tenant, or the owner-occupier if the property is not let. Local councils use business rates to fund local services and infrastructure, and the revenue contributes to a national pool that funds council services across England and Wales. In total, business rates generate over £25 billion annually across the UK.
The amount of business rates you pay is determined by a simple formula: your property's rateable value (RV) multiplied by the annual multiplier (also called the uniform business rate or UBR). The rateable value is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and is supposed to reflect the annual rent the property could reasonably be expected to achieve on the open market. The multiplier is set by central government and is the same for all similar properties within a rating area, though different multipliers apply to different property types and rateable value bands.
For more detailed information on how business rates work, including the history of the system and how properties are valued, see our guide What are business rates?
The April 2026 revaluation — what changed
The April 2026 revaluation was a significant reset of the business rates system. All rateable values across England and Wales were recalculated based on the Antecedent Valuation Date (AVD) of 1 April 2024. This means the VOA looked at rents and comparable evidence from April 2024 and used that to reset every property's rateable value with effect from 1 April 2026. This was the first full revaluation since 2023.
The rateable values from the 2023 revaluation remained in place for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, with only inflationary adjustments. By 2026, however, the rental market had moved significantly in some areas. Properties in strong rental markets — including logistics warehouses, certain office locations, and some hospitality venues in recovery — saw rateable values rise substantially. Conversely, properties in weak markets — including many high street retail units, some industrial estates, and sectors still recovering from post-pandemic challenges — saw values fall.
Simultaneously, the government introduced a new five-multiplier system to replace the old two-multiplier structure. Rather than a single standard multiplier and a small business multiplier, the new system introduces graduated multipliers based on property type and rateable value band. This is explored in detail in the next section.
The cumulative effect — a revaluation plus a new multiplier structure — means that two properties that were paying broadly the same bill in 2025/26 might have very different bills in 2026/27. It is worth reviewing your new bill carefully and comparing your property against genuinely comparable evidence in your local market.
For a full technical explanation of the 2026 revaluation, including how the VOA arrived at each rateable value, see our guide The April 2026 Business Rates Revaluation Explained
The 2026/27 multipliers — what rate do you pay?
The 2026/27 multiplier system is one of the most significant changes in recent years. The government replaced the previous two-multiplier structure with five distinct multipliers, each calibrated to different property types and rateable value bands. This graduated approach aims to reduce the bill burden on the smallest businesses while maintaining rates for larger properties and higher-value commercial real estate.
Here are the five multipliers for 2026/27:
| Multiplier Name | Rate (pence per £) | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | 43.2p | Non-Retail/Hospitality/Leisure properties with RV below £51,000 |
| Standard | 48.0p | Non-RHL properties with RV between £51,000 and £499,999 |
| RHL Small Business | 38.2p | Retail, Hospitality, Leisure properties with RV below £51,000 |
| RHL Standard | 43.0p | RHL properties with RV between £51,000 and £499,999 |
| High Value | 50.8p | All properties with RV £500,000 and above |
Your bill is calculated using this simple formula: Rateable Value × Multiplier = Annual Bill (before reliefs).
Worked example: A small office with a rateable value of £35,000 falls into the Small Business category (RV below £51,000, not RHL). The annual bill would be calculated as: £35,000 × 0.432 = £15,120 per year (before any reliefs such as Small Business Rate Relief).
The new multiplier structure is designed to be progressive — smaller businesses pay a lower effective rate (43.2p vs 48.0p for standard businesses), and RHL properties (retail, hospitality, leisure) benefit from even lower multipliers to reflect the challenges faced by the high street and hospitality sector. Properties above £500,000 RV pay the highest multiplier at 50.8p, recognizing that premium commercial real estate typically has lower support needs.
For more information on the multiplier system, how it works, and how it compares to previous years, see Business Rates Multipliers 2026/27: Complete Explainer. You can also use our free business rates calculator to find your bill based on your rateable value and property type.
Business rates reliefs in 2026
One of the most valuable aspects of the business rates system is that reliefs are available to reduce your bill — sometimes dramatically. Many businesses are unaware of reliefs they qualify for, or assume they must be applied automatically (which is not always the case). Below is an overview of the main reliefs available in 2026.
| Relief Type | What It Provides |
|---|---|
| Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) | 100% relief for properties with RV ≤ £12,000; relief tapers from 100% to 0% between £12,000 and £15,000. Automatic in many cases, but sometimes requires a claim. This is often the most valuable relief available. See Small Business Rate Relief 2026 for full details. |
| Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Relief | The RHL multipliers (38.2p and 43.0p) apply automatically to eligible properties — no application needed. Properties must be used as a shop, restaurant, cafe, pub, cinema, hotel, or similar leisure facility. This relief is built into the multiplier structure. |
| Transitional Relief | Caps the year-on-year change in your bill following a revaluation. If your bill would jump up dramatically, transitional relief limits the increase. Applied automatically by your local council based on your 2025/26 and 2026/27 bills. |
| Charitable Relief | Properties occupied by registered charities receive a mandatory 80% relief on their business rates, with the option for councils to apply an additional discretionary relief to bring the effective rate to 100%. Charities must be registered with the Charity Commission. |
| Empty Property Relief | Industrial and storage properties are exempt from rates for 6 months if empty; other property types for 3 months. After the exemption period, full rates apply. No relief is available for empty offices unless they are temporarily empty due to refurbishment. |
How to calculate your business rates bill
Calculating your business rates bill is straightforward once you know your rateable value and which multiplier applies to your property. Here are the five steps:
- Find your rateable value. Visit gov.uk/find-business-rates and enter your property address. The Valuation Office Agency's website will show your current rateable value (from 1 April 2026). Make a note of the exact figure.
- Identify your multiplier. Use the table in the "2026/27 multipliers" section above, or check your business rates bill — it will state which multiplier applies. If you're unsure whether your property qualifies for RHL relief, check the property use against the RHL definitions.
- Multiply the rateable value by the multiplier. RV × multiplier = gross annual bill. For example: £45,000 RV × 0.432 (Small Business multiplier) = £19,440.
- Deduct applicable reliefs. If you qualify for Small Business Rate Relief, Charitable Relief, or other reliefs, these reduce the bill. Your council will typically apply reliefs automatically, but check your bill to confirm.
- Check for transitional relief adjustments. If you were paying business rates in 2025/26, transitional relief may cap the increase. This is applied automatically and will appear on your bill.
If you need a quick calculation without the detailed workings, use our free business rates calculator, which accounts for all multipliers and can estimate relief eligibility.
Could your rateable value be wrong?
One of the most common reasons businesses overpay their business rates is that their rateable value is too high. Rateable values are meant to reflect the annual rent a property could achieve on the open market, but the VOA works from limited comparable evidence. In practice, many properties are overvalued — and the owners and occupiers simply accept the valuation without challenge. This is a costly mistake, because a wrong rateable value compounds over the entire rating list period, typically 3-5 years. A £5,000 overvaluation might cost you £15,000 to £20,000 over the life of the list.
Common reasons for overvaluation include: incorrect comparable evidence used by the VOA (out-of-date rents, incomparable properties used as benchmarks); incorrect floor area recorded on the assessment (a common source of error); property-specific factors that depress the true rental value (poor access, lack of parking, structural issues, mixed use) not properly reflected in the valuation; and local rental market movements that the VOA did not fully anticipate when the AVD was measured in April 2024.
The April 2026 revaluation is one of the biggest opportunities in years to challenge an overvaluation. Properties undergo revaluation every few years, but in between those dates, the valuation can become increasingly stale. If your bill went up significantly, your new RV may not properly reflect current market conditions, or it may be inflated by benchmarking against properties that are not truly comparable to yours. Even if your bill went down, your RV may still be too high relative to genuine comparable evidence in your area.
How to challenge your business rates — Check, Challenge, Appeal
The formal process for challenging your business rates is called Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA), introduced by the government to streamline appeals. The process replaces the old informal and formal appeals procedure, and it works in three stages. The key advantage is that there is no time limit — you can challenge your rateable value at any point during the rating list period, and if successful, your saving is backdated to 1 April 2026.
Check stage: You formally request a Check from the Valuation Office Agency. This is a low-cost way to query your rateable value. The VOA will review your submission and either confirm the valuation is correct, or invite you into the Challenge stage. There is no cost or formal evidence requirement at Check stage — it is meant to be accessible to all businesses.
Challenge stage: If the Check does not resolve the issue, you move to Challenge. At this stage, you submit detailed evidence and arguments for why your rateable value is too high. This is where specialist surveyors and valuers typically become involved. The VOA will assess your evidence and either agree to reduce the valuation, or maintain it. If they maintain it, you can proceed to Appeal.
Appeal stage: If the Challenge is unsuccessful, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. This is a formal legal process, but it is the ultimate safeguard against incorrect valuations. Tribunal decisions are binding on the VOA. The average saving from a successful appeal is around £4,200 per year, and 60% of challenges result in a reduction of some kind. Crucially, most of the work in successful challenges is done by specialist firms on a no win, no fee basis, meaning you only pay if you succeed and save money.
For a complete step-by-step guide to the Check, Challenge, Appeal process, including how to prepare evidence, what to expect at each stage, and how to find a specialist, see our full guide: How to Challenge Your Business Rates: The Complete CCA Guide
Key business rates dates and deadlines for 2026
- 1 April 2026: The new rating list takes effect. New rateable values come into force, the five-multiplier system becomes live, and new bills are issued by local councils.
- 1 April 2026: Transitional relief scheme 2026 begins. Caps on bill increases/decreases apply automatically to businesses that received rates in the previous year.
- Ongoing: Checks can be submitted at any time throughout the rating list period. The sooner you submit a Check, the further back any saving is backdated (to 1 April 2026 at the earliest). There is no hard deadline.
- Autumn Budget 2026 (expected): The government typically announces the multiplier for the following year (2027/28) in the Autumn Budget. This provides advance notice of the coming financial year's rates.
Business rates for different property types
Offices: Office properties typically fall under the Standard or Small Business multiplier (48.0p or 43.2p depending on RV), unless they are home offices with RV below £12,000 which qualify for SBRR. Many office occupiers in prime locations saw rateable value increases in the 2026 revaluation, reflecting strong demand for high-quality office space in 2024. However, office-using businesses with secondary or less desirable locations may have seen decreases. The rise of hybrid working has created a two-tier market: premium office space in good locations remains valuable, while older or poorly-located offices have become less attractive.
Retail / shops: Retail properties benefit from the RHL multiplier (38.2p or 43.0p), which is lower than the equivalent standard multiplier. However, many high street retailers saw significant rateable value reductions in the 2026 revaluation, reflecting the challenging trading environment and shift to online retail. Despite the lower multiplier, many retail businesses still face substantial bills. The RHL relief is one of the key supports for the retail sector.
Restaurants, cafés and pubs: These hospitality properties also qualify for the RHL multiplier, giving them access to the lower rates (38.2p and 43.0p). The hospitality sector broadly benefited from dedicated RHL relief in the 2026 revaluation, with the government recognizing the sector's continued challenges post-pandemic. However, property-by-property outcomes vary depending on local trading conditions and the property-specific factors that affect rental value.
Warehouses and industrial: Industrial and logistics properties typically fall under the Standard or Small Business multiplier depending on RV. The logistics sector saw some of the sharpest rateable value increases in the 2026 revaluation, following the e-commerce-driven demand for warehouse space in 2021-2024. Properties in high-demand logistics clusters (such as areas near major motorways and ports) saw significant increases. However, older industrial buildings and those in declining industrial areas may have seen reductions.
Hotels and guest houses: Hotels and guest houses benefit from the RHL multiplier and often saw recovery in their rateable values in the 2026 revaluation, reflecting the bounce-back in hospitality values as tourism and business travel recovered post-pandemic. However, the precise outcome depends on local market conditions and the property's specific characteristics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Business rates are an annual tax on commercial and non-residential property in the UK. They are paid by the occupier (tenant or owner-occupier) to their local council. The amount is calculated by multiplying your property's rateable value (RV) by the annual multiplier. Rateable values are set by the Valuation Office Agency based on comparable market rents, and the multiplier is set by central government. In 2026/27, multipliers range from 38.2p to 50.8p per pound of rateable value, depending on property type and RV band.
Business rates are calculated using a simple formula: Rateable Value × Multiplier = Annual Bill (before reliefs). For example, a property with a rateable value of £35,000 and the Small Business multiplier of 43.2p would pay £35,000 × 0.432 = £15,120 per year, before any applicable reliefs such as Small Business Rate Relief. The multiplier that applies depends on your property type and RV band.
The 2026/27 multiplier depends on your property type and rateable value. There are five multipliers: Small Business (43.2p) for non-RHL properties with RV below £51,000; Standard (48.0p) for non-RHL with RV £51,000–£499,999; RHL Small Business (38.2p) for retail/hospitality/leisure with RV below £51,000; RHL Standard (43.0p) for RHL with RV £51,000–£499,999; and High Value (50.8p) for all properties with RV £500,000+. The new five-multiplier system was introduced in the April 2026 revaluation.
Business rates are paid by the occupier of a non-residential property. If the property is rented, the tenant typically pays the rates (unless the lease specifies otherwise). If the property is owner-occupied, the owner pays. Certain properties are exempt, including those used by charities (though charities receive relief rather than exemption), agricultural buildings, and places of worship. Residential properties (flats, houses) do not pay business rates — residents pay council tax instead.
Major reliefs include: Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) — 100% relief if RV ≤ £12,000, tapered to £15,000, this is often the most valuable relief; Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief (lower multipliers, applied automatically); Transitional relief (caps bill increases after revaluation); Charitable relief (up to 80% mandatory, plus discretionary top-up); and Empty property relief (3 months free, 6 months for industrial). Many businesses qualify for SBRR but don't claim it — check your bill and contact your council if you think you're entitled to it.
The April 2026 revaluation was a major reset of the system. All rateable values were recalculated based on the Antecedent Valuation Date (AVD) of 1 April 2024. Simultaneously, a new five-multiplier system was introduced to replace the old two-multiplier structure. This means some properties saw increases in both RV and multiplier rate, others saw decreases, and some saw mixed outcomes. The net effect on bills varied significantly depending on location and property type. Even if your bill went down, your RV may still be too high compared to comparable properties.
Yes. The Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) process allows you to formally challenge your rateable value at any time — there is no deadline. You submit a Check to the Valuation Office Agency; if they don't resolve it, you proceed to Challenge with detailed evidence; and if necessary, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. No win, no fee specialists can handle the process, and 60% of challenges result in a reduction. The average saving is £4,200 per year. Any successful saving is backdated to 1 April 2026, so early submission is recommended.
The timeline depends on the complexity of the case and the VOA's response. Most Check and Challenge cases are resolved within 6-12 months, though some take longer. Appeals to tribunal may take 12-24 months or more depending on the workload of the tribunal and the complexity of the property valuation. However, the sooner you submit a Check, the further back any saving is backdated, so early action is recommended. Even while your challenge is being assessed, you benefit from a backdated saving to 1 April 2026 if successful.