From April 2026, the UK government will introduce significant changes to how business rates are calculated.

These changes are part of wider reforms to create a fairer, more modern system that supports investment and protects the high street and may affect the amount that you pay.

The key changes are:

• Budget 2025 business rate relief package
• retail, hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) ends on 31 March 2026
• new non-domestic rates multipliers to be introduced from 1 April 2026
• revaluation 2026

Budget 2025 business rates relief package

At the 2025 Budget, the Chancellor announced a package of measures which provides support to businesses in England, including:

• non-domestic rates multipliers for 2026 to 2027
• transitional relief scheme
• supporting small business scheme
• extending the small business rate relief grace period
• 100% relief for eligible electric vehicle charging points and electric vehicle only forecourts

2026 to 2027 pubs and live music venues business rates relief

On 27 January 2026, the government announced a new business rates relief scheme to support eligible pubs and live music venues in England for the 2026 to 2027 financial year.

The scheme provides a 15% relief for eligible pubs and live music venues in 2026 to 2027, which is applied on top of any other reliefs they already receive.

Eligibility for pubs

Eligible pubs must:

• be open to the general public
• allow free entry except when occasional entertainment is provided
• allow customers to drink without requiring food
• permit drinks to be purchased at a bar

Restaurants, cafés, nightclubs, snack bars, hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, festival sites, theatres, cinemas, museums, exhibition halls, and casinos are not considered pubs for this relief.

Eligibility for live music venues 

A property qualifies if it is wholly or mainly used for live music performances to entertain an audience.

Other activities must be ancillary or incidental, such as selling food or drink, or occasional non‑music uses that do not change the primary purpose of the venue.

Business rates multipliers: qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure

As announced at the Budget 2024, in April 2026, the government will replace retail, hospitality and leisure relief with 2 lower business rate multipliers for properties with rateable values (RV) below £500,000.

We will be responsible for determining which properties are eligible for these multipliers in line with government guidance.

The new multipliers from April 2026 are as follows:

• small business RHL multiplier of 38.2p: retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) businesses with RV below £51,000
• small business non-RHL multiplier of 43.2p: non-RHL businesses with RV below £51,000
• standard RHL multiplier of 43p: RHL businesses with RV between £51,000 and £499,999
• standard non-RHL multiplier of 48p: non-RHL businesses with RV between £51,000 and £499,999
• large property multiplier of 50.8p: for all properties with RV of £500,000 and above

Multipliers are shown in pence per pound of rateable value.

Transitional relief

To support ratepayers facing large bill increases at the revaluation, the government is introducing a redesigned transitional relief scheme worth £3.2 billion.

Transitional relief supplement

A 1p supplement will be added to the relevant tax rate for ratepayers who do not receive transitional relief or the supporting small business scheme to partially fund transitional relief. This will apply for 1 year from 1 April 2026.

2026 supporting small business scheme

Bill increases for businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief will be capped at the higher amount of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026.

The 2026 SSB relief scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their RHL relief. The government has also announced a 1-year extension of the 2023 supporting small business scheme from 1 April 2026. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.

Extending the small business rates relief (SBRR) grace period from 1 to 3 years

Businesses will now keep their small business rates relief on their first property for 3 years after they take on a second property, instead of just 1 year.

100% relief for eligible vehicle charging points and electric vehicle only forecourts (EVCP relief)

A 10-year 100% business rates relief will apply to EVCPs separately assessed by the VOA and electric vehicle only forecourts to ensure that they face no business rates liability.

The regulations will be set out in due course.

Why these changes matter

The new system is designed to support local businesses and ensure fairer contributions from larger operations:

• support for the high street: the new RHL multipliers will replace the annual RHL relief, giving eligible businesses long-term certainty
• fairer contributions: a higher multiplier for large properties ensures major distribution centres and online retailers contribute proportionately

Legislative safeguards

The Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act will limit how much the new multipliers can differ from current rates:

• the large property multiplier cannot exceed the standard multiplier by more than 10p
• the RHL multipliers cannot be more than 20p lower than the small business multiplier

How we’re preparing

We’re reviewing our property database to determine which multiplier applies to each business. We’ll contact some ratepayers to request more information where needed.

How you can prepare

You can take the following steps to get ready for the new system:

• check your current rateable value
• review your eligibility for RHL classification

Business rates 2026 revaluation

Every 3 years, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updates the rateable values of over 2 million commercial properties in England and Wales. This process is called a revaluation and is intended to make sure business rates reflect changes in the property market.

The next revaluation comes into effect on 1 April 2026, using market values determined as of 1 April 2024.

After the revaluation is complete, the VOA will publish a full list of all non-domestic properties.

Find out more about rateable values and how to appeal your valuation.