Business Rates from 1 April 2026

At the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced a package of measure which provides support to businesses in England.

• Non-Domestic Rates multipliers for 2026/27
• Transitional relief scheme
• Supporting Small Business Scheme
• Extending the Small business Rate Relief grace period
• 100% relief for Eligible Electric Vehicle Charging Points and Electric Vehicle only forecourts

The main changes are summarised below.

Click the link below to see an example of a Business Rates bill.

View the Business Rates example bill

From 1 April 2026 there will be a new system of five multipliers. Businesses with a rateable value (RV) below £500,000 that qualify for the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Multipliers will have their bill calculated using two lower multipliers. This replaces RHL Relief and has no cash cap. View more information here

If you think your bill should be based on the lower RHL multiplier and the incorrect multiplier has been used, please complete this form.

If you disagree with your rateable value, you need to contact the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Transitional Relief limits the size of the increase if your bill goes up due to Revaluation. It is calculated automatically.

The limit by which the business rates for a property may change depends on the RV of the property:

• Small Property - rateable value up to £20,000
• Medium Property- rateable value £20,001 to £100,000
• Large Property - rateable value £100,001 plus

The limits set for increases in business rates are shown in the below table.

The Transitional Relief Supplement is to help fund the transitional relief and will be charged to each property for one year. This is 1p in each pound of rateable value. This supplement will be calculated and will show on every bill. If your bill has a maximum amount it can pay due to a relief on the account, this supplement will come off again as part of that relief. You will not pay more than the maximum allowed by the relief.

Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR) 2026 will apply to any ratepayer losing some or all of their Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) due to their RV going up at Revaluation. The 2026 SSBR scheme has been expanded to include ratepayers losing their Retail, Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) Relief. 

It will limit the increase in their bill for each of the three years of the rating list. This relief will be capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026 (see above).

The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme from 1 April 2026 until 31 March 2027. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs. 

This relief is designed to help pubs and live music venues; they will be entitled to a further reduction of 15% after any other eligible rate relief(s). The bill will then be frozen for 2027/28 and 2028/29 in real terms but will still go up by inflation.

The relief applies only to occupied properties. View full eligibility details here.

The government has released a calculator to allow ratepayers who will qualify for this relief to estimate their bill in 2026/27.

If you have not received the relief, and your property meets the criteria, please complete the contact us form. 

You should keep making payments as outlined on your bill until you we tell you the outcome of your application.

For businesses receiving Small Business Rate Relief who take on an extra property, the relief has previously been extended for 12 months. For those taking on a second property from the date of the Autumn Budget 2025 (26 November 2025), this relief will now last 3 years.

There will be a 10-year 100% relief for eligible EVCPs. The regulations for this will be laid down in due course.

Every three years, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updates the Rateable Values (RV) of over 2 million commercial properties in England and Wales. This process is called a revaluation; it is intended to ensure business rates reflect changes in the property market.

The next revaluation comes into effect on 1 April 2026, using market values determined as of 1 April 2024. 

Check your current and future RV here

View here for help with the 2026 business rates evaluation

Business Rates are based on your property’s ‘rateable value’ and a ‘multiplier’ for each tax year.

Estimate how much you will pay in business rates

If you believe your rateable value is incorrect, you will need to make a Check using your business rates valuation account, with the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) 

Rateable Value (RV) is the estimated annual rent your property could have been let for on the valuation date. It is not the same as the rent you currently pay.  City of Wolverhampton Council use your RV to calculate your business rates bill.

All queries in relation to your RV should be directed to the VOA