Business Rates Calculator

Business rates are calculated by multiplying your property's rateable value (RV) by the applicable multiplier set annually by the government. For 2026/27, the standard multiplier is 51.2p in the pound for properties with an RV of £51,000 or above, and the small business multiplier is 49.9p for properties below that threshold. The rateable value is an estimate of the open-market annual rent for the property as assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) applies if your single property has an RV below £15,000. Properties with an RV of £12,000 or below receive 100% relief—paying zero business rates. Between £12,001 and £15,000, the relief tapers on a sliding scale. If you occupy multiple properties, your eligibility is based on the combined RV, and SBRR may be reduced or unavailable.

Additional reliefs may apply: rural rate relief for shops and post offices in designated rural areas, charitable relief at 80% for qualifying charities, and the retail/hospitality/leisure relief scheme which has provided up to 75% discount in recent years. Transitional relief caps annual increases or decreases following a revaluation to smooth bill changes. Your local council issues the bill and administers collection.

How business rates are calculated. Your annual rates bill = Rateable Value × the Uniform Business Rate (UBR) multiplier. For 2026/27, the standard multiplier is 49.9p and the small business multiplier (for properties with RV under £51,000) is 49.9p as of April 2026. Rateable Value is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) based on what the property would let for on an open market on a specific 'valuation date' — currently 1 April 2021 for the 2023 rating list. A £15,000 RV at the small business multiplier costs £7,485/year before reliefs.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR). If your property has a rateable value of £12,000 or less, you pay no business rates at all (100% relief). For RV between £12,001 and £15,000, relief tapers linearly from 100% to 0%. To qualify, you must occupy only one property OR additional properties must each have RV under £2,899 and total RV under £20,000 (£28,000 in London). SBRR is not automatic in some councils — check your bill and apply via your local council if missing. SBRR can save up to £6,000/year for a small business.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Relief. For 2026/27, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties receive 40% relief on bills (down from 75% in 2024/25), capped at £110,000 per business. Eligible properties include shops, restaurants, cafés, pubs, cinemas, music venues, hotels, gyms and similar. The relief is in addition to SBRR — a small shop can stack both. Apply via your local council; for some councils it is automatic.

Revaluations and the transitional relief. The VOA revalues all 2 million rateable properties periodically (most recently 2023, next in 2026). When revaluation shifts your bill significantly, transitional relief caps the year-on-year increase: 5% in year 1, 7.5% in year 2, 10% in year 3 for small businesses; 15%, 25%, 40% for medium; 30%, 40%, 55% for large. There is no transitional downward limit — bill reductions take effect immediately. The 2026 revaluation may affect your rates significantly — check the VOA's online check service.

Appeals — Check, Challenge, Appeal. If you believe your Rateable Value is wrong, you can use the VOA's three-stage process: (1) Check — confirm the basic facts (square footage, classification) on GOV.UK; (2) Challenge — submit evidence within 4 months that the valuation is incorrect; (3) Appeal — escalate to the Valuation Tribunal if Challenge is rejected. ~30% of Challenges succeed in reducing RV. Pre-2023 ratings could be appealed by retrospective claim, recovering overpaid rates for up to 6 years.