Calculating business rates
How is my bill calculated?
Business rates are calculated using the same 'multiplier' throughout England, no matter which council is collecting it (except the City of London).
Every three years the Valuation Office Agency (an agency of the Inland Revenue) carries out a valuation of every business property to determine a 'rateable value' for each one and adds each property to a rating list.
For consistency, a revaluation is carried out every three years. It is to ensure that rateable values are consistent with current rental market conditions.
The rateable value is multiplied by a value, known as the multiplier, to determine the business rates charge for the year (subject to some transitional arrangements which may be in place following each revaluation).
How the multiplier works
The government sets the multipliers for each financial year for the whole of England, and normally changes the multipliers each year in line with inflation.
What are the most recent multipliers?
- Small business RHL multiplier 38.2p: Retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) businesses with rateable values (RV) below £51,000
- Small business multiplier 43.2p: Non-RHL businesses with RV below £51,000
- Standard RHL multiplier 43.0p: RHL businesses with RV between £51,000 and £499,999
- Standard multiplier 48.0p: Non-RHL businesses with RV between £51,000 and £499,999
- Large property multiplier 50.8p: For all properties with RV of £500,000 and above
From 1 April 2026, a 1p transitional relief supplement (TRS) will be applied to the business rates multiplier for one year in England. This temporary 1p surcharge is applied to all accounts but then removed within the relief, apart from businesses that do not qualify for the 2026 Transitional Relief Scheme or the Supporting Small Business (SSB) scheme.
Vacating a property
Business rates are a daily charge. If the property becomes empty part way through the year, you only pay business rates for the days the property was occupied. However, you may be liable for a subsequent empty property rate.
If you need to inform us about a property becoming vacant, please contact us.
