UK Business Rates Calculator

Business rates are a tax on non-domestic properties, similar to council tax for homes. They are charged on most commercial properties including shops, offices, pubs, warehouses and factories. The amount you pay is based on the rateable value of your property, which is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and represents the open market rental value on a set valuation date.

The Valuation Office Agency assesses rateable value based on the annual open market rental value of a property on a specific valuation date. The rating list that took effect on 1 April 2026 uses 1 April 2024 as its valuation date, replacing the list based on 1 April 2021 values. Factors include property size, location, condition and use. The VOA uses evidence from actual rents paid on similar properties. You can check your rateable value on the GOV.UK website.

England has five multipliers for 2026/27, up from two in 2025/26, following the 2026 revaluation. They are 43.2p small business (2025/26: 49.9p), 48.0p standard (2025/26: 55.5p), 38.2p retail, hospitality and leisure small, 43.0p retail, hospitality and leisure standard, and 50.8p high value. The multipliers look lower than last year because rateable values were rebased at the same time, so a lower multiplier does not on its own mean a lower bill. Which one applies depends on rateable value and property use: any property with a rateable value of £500,000 or more uses the high-value multiplier whatever it is used for; below that, retail, hospitality and leisure property uses the RHL multipliers and everything else uses the small business or standard multiplier, split at £51,000. So a shop with a rateable value of £40,000 pays £15,280 a year before reliefs, while an office of the same rateable value pays £17,280. The multipliers are set annually by central government and apply in England only.

From 1 April 2026 England charges qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure property permanently lower multipliers — 38.2p below a rateable value of £51,000 and 43.0p at or above it. These replace the year-by-year percentage RHL relief that ran up to and including 2025/26, so the discount is now built into the bill rather than applied for annually. Broadly, RHL covers property used mainly for visiting members of the public: shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars, gyms and sports facilities, hotels and guest houses, cinemas and live music venues. The lower multipliers do not apply once the rateable value reaches £500,000, at which point the 50.8p high-value multiplier takes over. Your council decides whether your property qualifies, so check your bill.

The high-value multiplier is a surcharge introduced in England for 2026/27. Any property with a rateable value of £500,000 or more is charged at 50.8p in the pound instead of the 48.0p standard multiplier — roughly 2.8p extra per pound of rateable value. It applies whatever the property is used for, so a large retail warehouse or distribution centre loses the benefit of the retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers once it crosses the threshold. It is a cliff edge rather than a taper: a property at £500,000 pays £254,000 before reliefs, against £239,520 for one assessed £1,000 lower.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is a percentage discount, separate from the choice of multiplier. It is available to ratepayers occupying a single property with a rateable value below £15,000. Properties with a rateable value of £12,000 or below receive 100% relief, meaning no rates to pay. Between £12,001 and £15,000, relief tapers from 100% to 0%. You must occupy only one property, or your other properties must each have a rateable value below £2,900 and their total rateable value must stay under £50,000.

No. These are two different things and they are often confused. The small business multiplier of 43.2p — or 38.2p if the property is retail, hospitality or leisure — applies automatically to every property with a rateable value below £51,000, whether or not you qualify for or claim SBRR. Small Business Rate Relief is the separate percentage discount that runs from 100% at £12,000 down to nil at £15,000, and that one does have to be claimed and does depend on occupying a qualifying single property. An office with a rateable value of £25,000, for example, gets the 43.2p multiplier but no SBRR discount.

Empty commercial properties are exempt from business rates for the first three months of being empty (six months for industrial properties). After this period, full rates become payable. Listed buildings, properties with a rateable value below £2,900, and properties where the owner is in administration or liquidation may qualify for extended empty property relief.

Business rates are billed by your local council and can usually be paid in 10 monthly instalments from April to January, or in 12 monthly instalments if you request this. Most councils accept direct debit, online payment, telephone payment or payment at a bank or post office. You can also pay in a single lump sum. Contact your local council to set up payment.

Yes, you can challenge your rateable value through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process. First, check your property details on the VOA website and report any errors. If you still disagree, submit a formal challenge with evidence of comparable rental values. If the challenge is rejected, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England. The process can take several months to years.

Transitional relief limits how much your bill can change following a revaluation, and it matters more than usual in 2026/27 because the 2026 revaluation rebased every rateable value in England. If your rateable value increases significantly, transitional relief caps the annual increase and phases it in over several years. Conversely, if your rateable value decreases, transitional arrangements also phase in the reduction. Your council applies it automatically, so look for a transitional adjustment line on your bill. This calculator does not model it.

Registered charities that occupy a property mainly for charitable purposes qualify for mandatory 80% business rate relief. Local councils can choose to give an additional discretionary 20% relief, making it 100%. Community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) also qualify for mandatory 80% relief. Non-profit organisations that are not registered charities may apply for discretionary relief.

Scotland and Wales set their own multipliers and relief schemes, so this calculator does not produce a bill for either — it uses the England multipliers only. Scotland charges three rates for 2026-27, applied to the whole rateable value rather than in slices: 48.1p basic poundage up to £51,000, 53.5p intermediate from £51,001 to £100,000, and 54.8p higher above £100,000. Scotland has no retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier and no high-value multiplier, and instead gives retail, hospitality and leisure support as a percentage relief. Wales moved to three multipliers from 1 April 2026: 0.350 for small and medium retail shops with a rateable value below £51,000, 0.502 standard, and 0.515 for property with a rateable value above £100,000. The Welsh lower rate covers retail shops only, so hospitality and leisure do not qualify, and its higher-multiplier threshold is £100,000 rather than England’s £500,000. If your property is in Scotland or Wales, use your devolved government’s published multipliers and your council’s bill rather than the figures here.