Who this page is for
This page is for businesses that occupy offices in England and want the rateable value looked at. It is written for commercial assessments: from about £50,000, through the standard band (£51,000 to £499,999), and for buildings at £500,000 or above, where the 2026/27 high-value multiplier applies.
Save Business Rates is an introducer. A free check is passed to a RICS-regulated specialist. No win, no fee. This page does not quote an average saving, and it does not describe a result for any named occupier.
How Check, Challenge, Appeal works
In England, a dispute about rateable value follows three stages. The fuller guide is Check, Challenge, Appeal.
- Check. Confirm the facts the Valuation Office Agency holds: floor areas, which floors are in the valuation, and what has been included.
- Challenge. If the rateable value is still too high, set out why. For an office that usually means the price per square metre and the offices it has been compared with.
- Appeal. If the challenge does not resolve it, the case can go to the Valuation Tribunal for England.
The 2026 rating list is based on rental values at 1 April 2024 and runs until 31 March 2029.
What is specific to offices
Price per square metre, zoning and scheme comparables
An office rateable value is usually a price per square metre applied to the floor area, not a one-off capital sum. In some valuations different parts of the floor are zoned, so one part of the space carries a different rate from another. In others a single rate is applied to the floor and then set against the tone used for comparable offices. That tone is sometimes called a scheme of comparables: a building, a terrace or a locality valued on a common basis.
The questions a specialist looks at are practical ones. Is the area right? Does the price per square metre match the evidence at 1 April 2024? Does this suite differ from the offices in the scheme — floor level, specification, layout, natural light, lifts, parking or plant — in a way the valuation does not reflect?
Hybrid working
Hybrid working does not automatically reduce the rateable value. The figure is an estimate of the annual rent at 1 April 2024, on the statutory assumptions. It is not a tax on how many people come in. A business that uses its office less intensively after that date does not, by that fact alone, have a lower assessment. If the rental market at 1 April 2024 had already moved because occupiers wanted less space, that shows up in rental evidence. That evidence is what a challenge would have to address. It is not a fixed discount.
Which multiplier an office uses in 2026/27
Offices are not retail, hospitality and leisure property, so the 38.2p and 43.0p rates do not apply. The England 2026/27 rates for an office are:
- 43.2p where the rateable value is under £51,000
- 48.0p from £51,000 to £499,999
- 50.8p at £500,000 or above
A building on the high-value rate is covered on the £500,000 multiplier page. The rates are the 2026/27 figures published on GOV.UK, also set out in the UBR 2026/27 guide.
Worked example: an office at £120,000
The illustration below uses a rateable value of £120,000, around the level of a commercial office in the standard band. The assumption is stated in the first row of the arithmetic: if the rateable value were reduced by 10%. That is a round number so the sum can be followed. It is not a prediction.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rateable value in this illustration | £120,000 |
| 10% of £120,000 | £12,000 |
| Rateable value if reduced by 10% (£120,000 − £12,000) | £108,000 |
| 2026/27 multiplier (still £51,000 to £499,999) | 48.0p |
| Bill now, before reliefs (£120,000 × 0.480) | £57,600 |
| Bill if the rateable value were reduced by 10% (£108,000 × 0.480) | £51,840 |
| Difference in one year (£57,600 − £51,840) | £5,760 |
| Same difference over the three list years, to 31 March 2029 (£5,760 × 3) | £17,280 |
The one-year difference is also £12,000 × 0.480 = £5,760, because both rateable values use the same multiplier.
Questions
Who are office business rates appeals for?
Occupiers of offices in England whose rateable value is in the commercial range this site covers: from about £50,000, through the standard band, and into £500,000 and above. That includes a suite, a floor or a whole building. The worked example on this page uses £120,000.
How are office rateable values usually assessed?
Office rateable value is usually built from a price per square metre applied to the floor area. Sometimes different parts of the floor are zoned at different prices. Sometimes one rate is applied and then compared with the tone used for similar offices, often called a scheme of comparables. A challenge looks at the area, the price per square metre and whether those comparables fit this office.
Does hybrid working lower an office rateable value?
Not by itself. Rateable value is an estimate of rental value at 1 April 2024, the date used for the 2026 list. It is not a charge per person in the building. Using the office less intensively after that date does not, on its own, reduce the assessment. If rents at 1 April 2024 already reflected hybrid working, that is a question of rental evidence.
What would a 10% reduction mean on an office at £120,000?
This is an illustration, not a forecast. If the rateable value were reduced by 10%, £120,000 would become £108,000 (10% of £120,000 is £12,000). Both figures are in the standard band, so the 2026/27 multiplier stays at 48.0p. The bill before reliefs would move from £120,000 × 0.480 = £57,600 to £108,000 × 0.480 = £51,840, a difference of £5,760 in one year. If that same difference applied in each of the three years of the list, to 31 March 2029, the total would be £5,760 × 3 = £17,280. Multipliers for later years have not been set. No reliefs or supplements are included.
Do offices use the retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers?
Offices are not retail, hospitality and leisure property, so they do not use the 38.2p or 43.0p multipliers. In 2026/27 an office under £51,000 uses 43.2p, an office from £51,000 to £499,999 uses 48.0p, and an office at £500,000 or above uses the high-value multiplier of 50.8p.
Ask for a check
A free check takes the property details to a RICS-regulated specialist. There is no fee unless the rateable value is reduced.