How your Business Rates are worked out

The Council multiplies the rateable value of your property, which is set by the Valuation Office, part of HMRC, by a multiplier (the national non-domestic multiplier) which is set by central government. It is set for the whole of England and is effective from 1 April each year. The multiplier represents the number of pence in each pound of the rateable value that will be payable in business rates before any reliefs or discounts are applied. The calculation gives the amount of rates payable for the year.

The Government reviews the multipliers each year to reflect changes in inflation. By law, the multiplier cannot increase or decrease by more than the rate of inflation, except in the year of a revaluation. In that year it is set at a level which will keep the total amount raised in rates after the revaluation the same as before, plus inflation for that year. The most recent revaluation took effect from 1 April 2026. Future revaluations will be carried out every three years with the next one coming into force on 1 April 2029.

The rateable value of a property is an assessment of the annual rent the property would rent for it it were available to let on the open market at a fixed valuation date. (This is known as the Antecedent Valuation Date or AVD).

• From 1 April 2023 rateable values were based on the valuation date of 1 April 2021.
• From 1 April 2026 rateable values are based on the valuation date of 1 April 2024

Prior to 1 April 2026 there were two multipliers for each year; the standard national Non-Domestic Multiplier (which applies to properties with a rateable value of £51,000 and above and the Small Business Multiplier (which applies to  properties with a rateable value less than £51,000).

From 1 April 2026 the Government has introduced three additional multipliers. Different multipliers will apply to properties which fall into Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Categories. A higher multiplier will apply to high value properties, whose rateable value exceeds £500,000. The multipliers are shown below:

Transitional Relief supplement

A 1p supplement 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 one year from 1 April 2026.

The multipliers from 01.04.2017 to 01.04.2026 are shown below

 * The Small Business multiplier was frozen from 01.04.2020 to 01.04.2026

This means changes to your bill are phased in gradually, if you're eligible.

From the 2026 to 2027 tax year you'll get transitional relief if your:

• property is in England
• rates go up by more than a certain amount

We will adjust your bill automatically if you're eligible.

How much your bill can change by

How much your bill can change by from one year to the next depends on both:

• your property's rateable value
• whether your bill is increasing or decreasing as a result of revaluation

You stop getting transitional relief when your bill reaches the full amount set by a revaluation.

The business rates year is from 1 April to 31 March the following year.

If your bill is increasing from 1 April 2026

If you've received a transitional certificate

The transitional certificate value will be used in the business rates calculation for your property instead of the usual rateable value.

If you disagree with the value of the certificate contact the Valuation Office, part of HMRC (HMRC VO).