Business Rates Calculator 2026/27 (England)

Last updated 23 September 2026. Multipliers checked against the government's 2026/27 notification (10 February 2026). Reliefs checked against GOV.UK and council guidance.

What changed in April 2026

Business rates in England changed in two big ways on 1 April 2026:

• Revaluation. Every business property got a new rateable value, based on rental values at 1 April 2024. On average, rateable values went up, so many businesses saw higher bills even though the multipliers fell.
• Five multipliers instead of two. There are now separate, lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, and a higher one for properties worth £500,000 or more.

At the same time, the 40% retail, hospitality and leisure relief that applied in 2025/26 ended. The new lower multipliers replace it.

How business rates are calculated

Your bill starts with a simple sum:

Then any reliefs you qualify for are taken off, such as transitional relief or Small Business Rate Relief. What's left is your bill for the year.

Your rateable value is set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). It's roughly the yearly rent the property could have been let for on 1 April 2024. You'll find it on your bill or by using the GOV.UK valuation search.

2026/27 business rates multipliers

For comparison, in 2025/26 there were two multipliers: 49.9p for properties under £51,000 and 55.5p for everything else.

Which properties count as retail, hospitality or leisure?

To get the lower RHL multipliers, the property must be occupied and wholly or mainly used for a qualifying purpose. Examples include:

• Retail: shops, supermarkets, charity shops, petrol stations, garden centres
• Hospitality: restaurants, cafés and coffee shops, takeaways, pubs and bars, hotels, guest houses and B&Bs
• Leisure: gyms, cinemas, theatres, live music venues, nightclubs, sports grounds

Banks and building societies, professional services such as solicitors and accountants, betting shops, car parks, conference centres and taxi firms don't qualify. Unlike last year's relief, there's no cash cap. Some councils, including Bristol, ask you to fill in a form so they can apply the right multiplier, so check your bill.

Small Business Rate Relief

If your business only uses one property and its rateable value is £12,000 or less, you pay no business rates. Between £12,001 and £15,000, the relief tapers from 100% down to nothing:

If your business uses more than one property

You can still get relief on your main property if none of your other properties has a rateable value over £2,899, and the total rateable value of all your properties is under £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

If you take on a second property, you keep relief on your main property for 12 months. That grace period is 36 months if you got the second property on or after 27 November 2025.

Transitional relief: limits on big increases

Transitional relief phases in large rises caused by the revaluation. For 2026/27, the increase in your bill before other reliefs is capped at:

Your council applies it automatically. The calculator estimates it by comparing your new bill before reliefs with your 2023 rateable value multiplied by the 2025/26 multiplier. The council's exact calculation can differ slightly.

Supporting Small Business relief

If you lost Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, the 40% retail, hospitality and leisure relief or 2023 Supporting Small Business relief because of the revaluation, the 2026 Supporting Small Business scheme limits your increase to £800 a year, or the transitional relief cap if that's higher. It usually lasts three years (2026/27 to 2028/29), or until you reach your full bill. For businesses that were already getting 2023 Supporting Small Business relief on 31 March 2026, it ends on 31 March 2027.

Charities and community amateur sports clubs getting 80% mandatory relief aren't eligible.

Other reliefs this calculator doesn't cover

The calculator covers the reliefs most small businesses get. Depending on your situation, you might also qualify for:

• Charitable rate relief: charities and community amateur sports clubs get 80% mandatory relief on properties used for their charitable purposes. Councils can top this up to 100%.
• Rural rate relief: some businesses in rural settlements with fewer than 3,000 people, such as the only village shop, post office, pub or petrol station, can get relief.
• Empty property relief: most empty properties pay nothing for the first 3 months (6 months for industrial property), then usually pay full rates.
• Improvement relief: if you improve or extend a property you occupy, you may not pay extra rates on the higher rateable value for 12 months.
• Hardship and local discretionary relief: councils can reduce bills for businesses in financial difficulty, and some run their own schemes.

Ask your council about any of these. They're applied on top of the figures in the calculator.

Do you pay business rates if you work from home?

Usually not. If you use a small part of your home for work, such as a bedroom as an office, you normally don't pay business rates. You may need to pay if you've changed part of your home for business use, sell goods or services to people who visit, or employ people to work there. The VOA decides, so check GOV.UK if you're unsure.

Planning ahead: 2027/28 and 2028/29

If transitional relief or Supporting Small Business relief is limiting your bill this year, expect it to rise in the next two years as the protection is phased out. The transitional caps for smaller properties increase to 10% plus inflation in 2027/28 and 25% plus inflation in 2028/29. Multipliers are normally updated each April in line with inflation. Build those increases into your budget now. Our break-even calculator can show how a higher rates bill changes the sales you need.

Business rates in Bristol

Bristol City Council collects business rates for properties in the city. To get the lower retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers, Bristol asks eligible businesses to fill in a form, and it recalculates the 2026/27 bill using the information you give. If your bill shows 43.2p or 48.0p but your property is a shop, café, pub or similar, contact the council. The same rates and reliefs apply across England, so this calculator works for Bristol and everywhere else in England.

Worked examples

A small café with a rateable value of £10,000

£10,000 × 38.2p = £3,820 before reliefs. As the café's only property is valued at £12,000 or less, Small Business Rate Relief removes the whole bill. It pays £0.

An office with a rateable value of £13,500

£13,500 × 43.2p = £5,832 before reliefs. Small Business Rate Relief of 50% takes off £2,916, leaving £2,916 for the year, or £291.60 a month over 10 instalments.

A shop whose rateable value rose from £22,000 to £30,000

Last year: £22,000 × 49.9p = £10,978, less 40% retail relief = £6,586.80. This year: £30,000 × 38.2p = £11,460 before reliefs. That's an increase of over 70%, because the 40% relief has ended. Because the shop lost that relief, Supporting Small Business relief limits the rise to the greater of £800 and 15% of last year's bill. That brings the estimated bill to about £7,574.82.

How to pay and what to check

• Instalments: councils usually collect business rates in 10 monthly instalments from April. You can ask to pay over 12 months instead.
• Check your multiplier: if your property is retail, hospitality or leisure, make sure your bill uses 38.2p or 43.0p, not 43.2p or 48.0p.
• Check your reliefs: Small Business Rate Relief isn't always applied automatically. Contact your council if you think you qualify.
• Check your rateable value: if you think it's wrong, you can check and challenge it with the VOA.

Frequently asked questions

How are business rates calculated in 2026/27?

Multiply your rateable value by the right multiplier (38.2p, 43.2p, 43.0p, 48.0p or 50.8p), then take off any reliefs you qualify for, such as Small Business Rate Relief or transitional relief.

What is the small business multiplier for 2026/27?

43.2p for properties with a rateable value under £51,000, or 38.2p if the property is used for retail, hospitality or leisure.

Do I pay business rates if my rateable value is under £12,000?

Usually not. If it's your business's only property and the rateable value is £12,000 or less, Small Business Rate Relief removes the whole bill.

Has retail, hospitality and leisure relief ended?

Yes. The 40% relief ended on 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, qualifying properties with a rateable value under £500,000 pay lower multipliers instead, with no cash cap.

Why has my business rates bill gone up?

Usually because your rateable value rose at the 2026 revaluation, or because you lost a relief such as the 40% retail, hospitality and leisure relief. Transitional relief and Supporting Small Business relief can limit the increase.

Can I pay business rates monthly?

Yes. Councils usually collect business rates in 10 monthly instalments, and you can ask to pay over 12 months instead.

Do I pay business rates if I work from home?

Usually not, if you use a small part of your home for work. You may need to pay if part of your home has been changed for business use, customers visit, or you employ people there.

Does this calculator work for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

No. It only covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own business rates and reliefs.

More free tools for UK businesses

• Break-Even CalculatorSee how rates affect your break-even point
• Corporation Tax CalculatorMarginal relief and payment dates
• Late Payment Interest CalculatorClaim interest on overdue invoices
• All free business toolsSee all our calculators

General guidance only, not professional advice. Your council's bill is the final figure. Sources: GOV.UK: 2026/27 multipliers; Small Business Rate Relief; 2026 Supporting Small Business relief; 2025/26 RHL relief.