Certain businesses can reduce their business rates bill through Business Rates Relief. The rules, eligibility criteria and relief amounts vary depending on whether your property is in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Depending on the nature of your business, you may qualify for Small Business Rates Relief, Supporting Small Business Relief, Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
It is available to small businesses, retail, hospitality or leisure properties, rural businesses, charities and community amateur sports clubs. If your business property is located outside England, you should check the relevant devolved authority’s guidance since the application may vary.
Rateable value and revaluation in 2026/27
If you are reviewing your business rates relief options for 2026/27, the timing matters. A revaluation came into effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2026 which means your rateable value may have changed.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) assigns every business property a rateable value based on open market rental values. The 2026 revaluation uses rental values as of 1 April 2024 as its baseline.
At each revaluation, all properties receive a new rateable value and the standard and small business multipliers are revised. This means a change in your rateable value does not automatically mean your bill will change by the same amount.
You can use the VOA’s online service to check your current rateable value. If you think it is incorrect you can challenge it through the VOA directly.
Getting your rateable value right is the first step. It determines whether you qualify for relief, how much you receive and which relief type applies to your business. Here is a breakdown of each relief available:
Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR)
Small Business Rates Relief is a scheme run by local councils in England that reduces business rates based on a property’s rateable value. The lower your rateable value, the more relief you receive.
Who qualifies for Small Business Rates Relief?
You may be eligible for SBRR if your property’s rateable value is less than £15,000 and your business operates from a single property. The amount of relief you receive depends on where your rateable value falls within that range:
- Properties valued at £12,000 or less pay no business rates at all
- Properties valued between £12,001 and £15,000 receive tapered relief that reduces gradually from 100% down to 0%
What if you use more than one property?
Taking on a second property does not automatically disqualify you from SBRR. You will continue to receive relief on your main property during a grace period, the length of which depends on when the second property was acquired:
- If the second property was acquired before 27 November 2025, a 12-month grace period continues to apply
- If the second property was acquired on or after 27 November 2025, you will receive a 36-month grace period
Once that period ends, you can still retain relief on your main property provided:
- None of your other properties have a rateable value above £2,899
- The combined rateable value of all your properties is below £20,000 or £28,000, if your business is based in London
How is Small Business Rates Relief calculated?
Your business rates bill is calculated by multiplying your property’s rateable value by a figure called the multiplier. If your rateable value is below £51,000, the small business multiplier applies automatically. This is lower than the standard multiplier and applies even if you do not qualify for SBRR.
For 2026/27, the rates are:
- Small business multiplier: 43.2p
- Standard multiplier: 48p
A property with a rateable value of £10,000 would have a base bill of £4,320 (£10,000 x 43.2p). If that property qualifies for 100% SBRR, the bill reduces to zero.
For a property valued at £13,500, the base bill would be £5,832. With approximately 50% tapered relief applied, the business would pay around £2,916.
If your rateable value sits close to a threshold, it is worth checking whether a recent revaluation has affected your eligibility.
Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR)
Supporting Small Business Relief is designed to protect businesses from absorbing the full impact of a higher rateable value overnight. The cap is either £800 or a percentage of the previous year’s bill, whichever is greater.
Who qualifies for Supporting Small Business Relief?
A business may be eligible for SSBR if:
- Its rates bill has increased due to revaluation.
- It has lost some or all its Small Business Rates Relief, Rural Rate Relief, Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief or 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief
Both conditions must apply. A higher bill alone is not sufficient if the loss of relief is not also a factor.
How is Supporting Small Business Relief calculated?
The percentage cap depends on the property’s rateable value. For 2026/27 the caps are:
- 5% for properties up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London)
- 15% for properties between £20,001 and £100,000 (£28,001 in London)
- 30% for properties over £100,000
The previous year’s bill used for comparison includes any relief that was applied in 2025/26. Your local council will apply SSBR automatically if you are eligible.
If a business paid a final bill of £11,976 in 2025/26 after relief and saw its rateable value jump to £120,000 following the 2026 revaluation, it would fall into the 30% cap band.
30% of £11,976 is £3,593. This exceeds the £800 minimum and confirms the cap applies. This will bring the 2026/27 bill to £15,569 rather than the full unrelieved amount.
Retail, hospitality and leisure relief
From 1 April 2026, the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief scheme as it has operated since the pandemic comes to an end. Qualifying businesses are no longer given a percentage discount on top of a standard bill.
Instead, they are placed on a permanently lower tax rate from the outset. This gives eligible businesses long-term certainty rather than year-on-year relief that could change or disappear.
Who qualifies for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief?
New claims for RHL relief are no longer accepted from 1 April 2026. A property must be wholly or mainly used for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes and have a rateable value below £500,000. Qualifying businesses include shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs, hotels, gyms and leisure facilities open to the public.
Properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or above do not qualify for the RHL multiplier. They use the high value multiplier of 50.8p regardless of business type.
It is still possible to claim RHL relief for previous years if it was not applied at the time. Businesses should contact their local council to check whether any backdated claims are available.
How is Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief calculated?
The multiplier applied depends on the property’s rateable value. For qualifying RHL properties the following rates apply from 1 April 2026:
- 38.2p applies to RHL properties with a rateable value below £51,000
- 43p applies to RHL properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999
- Businesses that have lost RHL relief as a result of the 2026 revaluation may be eligible for Supporting Small Business Relief to help manage the transition.
A bistro with a rateable value of £80,000 that paid £26,640 in 2025/26 after 40% RHL relief would see that relief end from 1 April 2026. With the 43p multiplier now applying, its base bill rises to £34,400.
Having lost RHL relief following the revaluation, the business may qualify for Supporting Small Business Relief. Its rateable value places it in the 15% cap band.
15% of £26,640 works out at £3,996. The 2026/27 bill is capped at £30,636 rather than the full £34,400.
Rural Rate Relief
Rural Rate Relief is designed to support businesses that serve small rural communities. If your business is in an eligible rural area with a population below 3,000, you will pay no business rates at all.
Who qualifies for Rural Rate Relief?
To qualify, your business must fall into one of the following categories:
- The only village general store, food shop or post office with a rateable value of up to £8,500
- The only public house or petrol station with a rateable value of up to £12,500
The property must be occupied. Businesses that lost some or all their Rural Rate Relief because of the 1 April 2026 revaluation may be eligible for Supporting Small Business Relief to help manage the transition.
Notify your local council promptly if your property becomes empty, you acquire an additional property, carry out works that increase its value or your business changes or relocates.
If you stop being eligible, the business rates bill will restart from the day your circumstances changed.
How is Rural Rate Relief calculated?
Eligible businesses receive 100% relief meaning no business rates are payable. There is no taper, you either qualify in full or you do not.
A village post office in rural England with a rateable value of £7,500, serving as the only post office in a community of under 3,000 people will qualify as the sole provider with a rateable value below £8,500. Its business rates bill for 2026/27 is zero.
If a second post office opened in the same village, the original business would no longer qualify as the sole provider and would need to reassess its eligibility with the local council.
Eligibility shifts as rateable values change, businesses grow and relief rules are updated. Reviewing your position annually ensures you are claiming what you are entitled to and not paying more than you should.
At Rise Accounting, we provide strategic financial support that helps small businesses maximise their reliefs while staying compliant and reducing risk.
Contact our team here to learn how we can support you.
