How your business rates bill is calculated

How we work out your annual bill using rateable values, multipliers and business rates relief.

Help for businesses affected by the 2026 revaluation

The government provides temporary relief for businesses affected by the business rates revaluation. The last revaluation took place on 1 April 2026.

If your bill went up, transitional relief limits the increases to your bill.

Transitional relief is automatically calculated and applied to your bill. You do not need to apply for it.

The percentage increases allowed per year are shown below.

Transitional relief – percentage increase caps per year from 2026 to 2029
Type of property	2026 to 2027 cap	2027 to 2028 cap	2028 to 2029 cap
Small property with a rateable value of £20,000 or less	5%	10% plus inflation	25% plus inflation
Medium property with a rateable value between £20,000 and £100,000 (or equal to £100,000)	15%	25% plus inflation	40% plus inflation
Large property with a rateable value of over £100,000	30%	25% plus inflation	25% plus inflation

The business rates year runs from 1 April to 31 March each year.

The transitional certificate value is used in your business rates calculation. This value replaces your property's usual rateable value.

You must contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Supporting small business relief is automatically calculated and applied to your bill. You do not need to apply for it.

You may get supporting small business relief if both of the following apply:

your business property's bill increased as a result of the 2026 revaluation
you have lost some or all of your small business rate relief, retail hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) or 2023 supporting small business relief

If you are eligible, your bill will go up either by:

The increase will be whichever amount is greater.