Important changes to business rates from 1 April 2026

From 1 April 2026, there will be significant changes to how Business Rates charge is calculated. These changes may affect the amount you pay.

 

Key summary of changes

  • Autumn Budget 2025 Business Rate relief package
  • Retail, hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) ends on 31 March 2026
  • New non-domestic rates multipliers to be introduced from 1 April 2026
  • Revaluation 2026

 

Budget 2025 business rates relief package

At the Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced a package of measure which provide 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

Business Rates Multipliers: qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure (from 2026)

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, in April 2026, the government will replace retail, hospitality and leisure relief with two lower business rates multipliers for properties with rateable values below £500,000. 

Redbridge Council will be responsible for determining which properties are eligible for these multipliers in line with government guidance.

New multipliers from April 2026

Category

Rateable Value (RV)

Multiplier

Small Business RHL

Below £51,000

38.2p

Standard RHL

£51,000 – £499,999

43.0p

Large (All Properties)

£500,000 and above

50.8p

Small Business (Non-RHL)

Below £51,000

43.2p

Standard (Non-RHL)

£51,000 – £499,999

48.0p

Multipliers shown in pence per pound of rateable value (RV).

Transitional Relief

To support ratepayers facing large bill increases at the revaluation the government is introducing a redesigned Transitional Relief scheme worth £3.2 billion.

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.

2026 supporting small business scheme 

Bill increases for businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief will be capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026. The 2026 SSB relief scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their RHL relief. The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 Supporting Small Business scheme from 1 April 2026. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.

Extending the Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) grace-period from one to three years

Businesses will now keep their Small Business Rates Relief on their first property for three years after they take on a second property, instead of just one year

100% relief for eligible electric vehicle charging points and electric vehicle only forecourts (EVCP relief)

A ten-year 100% business rates relief for EVCPs separately assessed by the VOA and Electric Vehicle only forecourts to ensure that they face no business rates liability.

The regulations will be laid down in due course.

 

Business Rates 2026 revaluation

Every three years, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) updates the rateable values 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.

What is a rateable value?

It’s 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.  Redbridge Council uses these rateable values to calculate your business rates bill.

Following completion of the revaluation, the VOA will publish a full list of all non-domestic properties.