Business rates

Your business rate charge is calculated by multiplying the rateable value assigned to your hereditament, which is determined by the Valuation Office Agency, by the Non-Domestic Rate multiplier, which is set by the government.

This provides the maximum charge that you would have to pay for the assessment. Once this calculation has been made, we then apply any reductions that you are automatically entitled to, or for the 2026 to 2027 financial year only, add on any transitional relief supplement, so we can determine the actual charge you will have to pay.

A Rateable Value (RV) is the estimated annual rental value for the assessment if it were available to let on the open market at a fixed valuation date. The Valuation Office Agency are responsible for determining the Rateable Value.

We are provided with details of the rateable values in the form of a Rating List, and we use this to calculate your charge. If you would like to check what your rateable is, you can do so by visiting:

• website: Find business rates - GOV.UK.

The non-domestic rate multiplier represents the number of pence in the pound of the rateable value that will be payable in business rates before any relief or reductions are applied. The calculation gives the maximum amount of business rates you would pay for that year (excluding transitional relief supplement at 1 pence).

Currently there are 2 rateable values that are used to calculate your charge. For the 2025 to 2026 financial year these are:

• the 49.9p small business multiplier. This is used when the hereditament has a rateable value of less than £51,000
• the 55.5p standard business multiplier. This is used when the hereditament has a rateable value of £51,000 or more.

From 1 April 2026 there will be 5 multipliers, and it is our responsibility to determine which multiplier should be used for your calculation. The five multipliers are:

38.2p small business RHL multiplier

This is used where the occupation of your assessment is deemed to be mainly used for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes and has a rateable value of less than £51,000

43.2p small business NDR multiplier

This is used for everything else that has a rateable value of less than £51,000 that doesn’t meet the small business RHL multiplier criteria. This includes empty properties within this bracket

43.0p standard RHL multiplier

This is used where the occupation of your assessment is deemed to be mainly used for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes and has a rateable value of £51,000 or more

48.0p standard NDR multiplier

This will be used for everything else that has a rateable value of £51,000 or more and doesn’t meet the standard RHL multiplier criteria. This includes empty properties within this bracket.

50.8p High Value NDR multiplier

This applies to all hereditaments that have a rateable value of £500,000 or more.

The multiplier that has been used to calculate your charge will be indicated on your Non-Domestic Rate bill.

The Valuation Office Agency assess the rateable value of all business and other non-domestic properties (properties that are not just private residences) in England and Wales. This is called a revaluation.

Rateable values are the amount of rent a property could have been let for on a set valuation date. For the 2023 valuation, that date was 1 April 2021. We use these rateable values from the VOA to calculate business rates bills.

Revaluations are carried out to reflect changes in the property market, which means that business rates bills are based on more up-to-date information. The latest revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2023. The next revaluation is due to come into effect on 1 April 2026.

Newsflash

The Valuation Office Agency published a news story on 17 April 2024 regarding false claims that the deadline to appeal the 2023 rating list is 30 June 2024.

They have clarified that challenges to the 2023 list are still generally permissible until March 2026 and are encouraging ratepayers to take caution in staying safe from scammers.

The full news story is available at:

• website: Warning of false claims - GOV.UK

The Valuation Office Agency already have clear standards setting out expectations regarding the conduct of professional rating agents and they are proactively addressing the misrepresentation.

We have been alerted by the Valuation Office Agency that there are some rogue business rates agents in operation scamming businesses.

When picking an agent, use the list collated by the Valuation Office Agency:

• website: Appointing an agent for business rates - Valuation Office Agency
• website: Be wary of rogue business rates agents - Valuation Office Agency

New calculation for Business Rates from 1 April 2026

On 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced new multipliers that every council must use to calculate business rates for businesses across the country.

From 1 April 2026, every business that is classed as retail, hospitality or leisure will have their bill calculated by using a smaller multiplier and have a smaller bill to pay.

The following multipliers will be used to calculate your bill:

Check if your business qualifies

Find out if your business is classed as Retail, Hospitality or Leisure by reading the official guidance on GOV.UK.

• website: Guidance: Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure - GOV.UK

Apply for the Retail, Hospitality or Leisure smaller multiplier

If you believe your business should be classed as Retail, Hospitality or Leisure, please complete our online form:

• link: Application for the reduced Business Rates multiplier

Important note

Even if your business does not currently pay Business Rates, please use the application form to let us know if it falls within the Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Categories.