Important: Business rates portal now open – please confirm your business type by 25 February

To support the government's confirmed changes to business rates for 2026-27, our Business Use Confirmation Portal is now open.

All businesses are required to log in and confirm the type of business conducted from their premises so we can ensure each property is billed using the correct multiplier from April 2026.

Revaluation and new national multipliers will apply from 1 April 2026. These depend on accurate records of how each property is used, so it is important that details are checked and updated now.

What you need to do

Please log in to the portal and:

  • confirm your business type
  • check how your premises are used
  • notify us of any changes or discrepancies in the information we hold

This will help us ensure that your 2026-27 business rates bill is calculated correctly.

Log in to the portal

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Please complete your online confirmation by 25 February 2026.

Submissions received after this date may not be processed in time for annual billing.

If amendments are required after bills have already been issued, this may result in an incorrect bill being sent initially, which will then need to be amended and reissued with the correct demand notice.

This letter with details of the new multipliers and information on the new portal[pdf] 230KB was recently sent to business ratepayers. 

Why this matters

The government has introduced new multipliers for 2026-27, including lower rates for many retail, hospitality and leisure properties and a separate higher multiplier for high‑value premises.
Ensuring we have accurate information now means we can apply the correct multiplier for your property from April onwards.

You can access the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) website, which currently holds information regarding the new multipliers for 2026-27.

Key points for businesses to know

1. Revaluation from April 2026 will mean:

  • all non-domestic properties will have their rateable values updated to reflect market conditions as of 1 April 2024.
  • your new rateable value will determine your business rates bill from April 2026 to March 2029.

2. New business rates multipliers

Multiplier 2025-26 2026-27 Scope
Small Business RHL Multiplier - 38.2p RHL hereditaments with RVs under £51,000
Standard RHL Multiplier - 43p RHL hereditaments with RVs between £51,000 and £499,999
National Small Business Multiplier 49.9p 43.2p Non-RHL hereditaments with RVs under £51,000
National Standard Multiplier 55.5p 48p Non-RHL hereditaments with RVs between £51,000 and £499,999
High-Value Multiplier - 50.8p All hereditaments with RVs of £500,000 or above
New business rates multipliers

3.  Permanent lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure

  • Properties with rateable values under £500,000 will benefit from lower multipliers, providing long-term certainty for these sectors.

4.  High-value properties

  • Properties with RVs of £500,000 or more will be subject to a higher multiplier, set at 50.8p.

5.  Transitional relief scheme

  • A £3.2 billion support package will cap annual bill increases for businesses facing significant changes after revaluation.
  • Caps will vary by property size (e.g., 5% for RVs up to £20,000 in 2026-27).

6.  Supporting small business schemes

  • The government's Supporting Small Business Relief (SSB) Scheme for 2026/2027 will protect ratepayers facing large increases in their bills at the 2026 revaluation, particularly those losing Small Business Rate Relief, Rural Rate Relief, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief, or the 2023 SSB scheme. Under the 2026 scheme, annual bill increases will be capped at £800 or the relevant transitional relief limit, whichever is higher. Businesses already receiving SSB Relief in 2025/2026 due to the 2023 scheme will continue to receive support in 2026/2027, but only for that year.

Business Rates Relief for Pubs and Live Music Venues - 2026/27

The government has announced a new business rates relief for occupied pubs and live music venues. This relief will be applied as part of the annual billing process for the 2026/27 financial year, alongside other mandatory updates such as the revised business rates multipliers and the latest revaluation.

Eligibility - pubs

To qualify, a property must meet all of the following characteristics:

  • be open to the general public
  • have free entry (except when occasional entertainment is provided)
  • drinking is allowed without food being required
  • drinks can be purchased at a bar

The following are not counted as pubs for the purpose of this relief:

  • restaurants, cafés, nightclubs, snack bars, hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses, sporting venues, festival sites, theatres, cinemas, museums, exhibition halls and casinos.

Local authorities may use discretion where eligibility is unclear, considering whether the premises meet the natural meaning of a pub (for example, being brewery‑owned or operated).

Eligibility - live music venues

To qualify, a property must be:

  • wholly or mainly used for live music performance for an audience

Other uses must be incidental/ancillary (e.g., food or drink for the audience) or infrequent (e.g., polling station or occasional community events)

Properties mainly used as nightclubs or theatres do not qualify.

Where needed, further clarification can be drawn from Chapter 16 of the statutory guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

What happens next

You do not need to apply for this relief.

We will assess eligibility and apply the relief automatically when issuing annual business rates bills for 2026/27, factoring it in alongside all other national business rates changes.

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