Small business rates relief: what you can claim
If your business occupies premises — a shop, office, workshop or unit — you may be paying business rates you do not actually owe. Small business rates relief can take 100% off the bill for smaller premises, yet plenty of eligible businesses never claim it, because it is not applied automatically.
What business rates are
Business rates are a tax on most non-domestic property in England. The bill is worked out by taking the property's rateable value — an estimate of its open-market annual rent, set by the Valuation Office Agency — and multiplying it by a figure called the multiplier. For many small businesses, rates are the second-biggest overhead after wages, which makes any relief worth having.
100% relief under £12,000
In England for 2026/27, if your property's rateable value is under £12,000, small business rates relief can reduce the bill to nil. Between £12,000 and £15,000 the relief tapers from 100% down to zero, so a property at £13,500 still gets a meaningful reduction. The relief is generally for businesses that occupy a single property, with some leeway for taking on a small second one.
The 2026 revaluation and the new multipliers
A revaluation took effect for 2026/27, resetting rateable values across the country, and there are now several multipliers rather than one. The small business multiplier (around 43.2p) applies to rateable values under £51,000, with higher multipliers above that and a top rate for the highest-value properties. Retail, hospitality and leisure premises have their own lower multipliers and a discount on top.
Because the revaluation changed rateable values, it is worth checking that yours has not quietly nudged you over a relief threshold — or, just as usefully, below one.
It is not automatic — you have to claim
This is the point that costs businesses money. Relief is administered by your local council, and in most cases you have to claim it. If you have recently moved into premises, your rateable value sits near a threshold, or you have simply never looked into it, contact your council. In many cases a claim can be backdated, so it is worth asking even if you think you may have missed the boat.
Check your rateable value is right
You can look up your rateable value on the Valuation Office Agency website in a couple of minutes. If the figure looks too high for the premises you actually occupy, you can challenge it. A successful challenge not only cuts the bill directly but can also drop you into a band where relief applies.
A note on where you are
Business rates and reliefs are devolved, so these figures apply to England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each run their own schemes with different thresholds and reliefs. If you trade across borders, check the rules for each location.
Premises costs are one of the easiest areas to overpay without noticing, and rates relief is one of the simplest savings to miss. We help businesses around Garforth and Leeds check they are on the right rateable value and claiming everything they are entitled to. If you are not certain whether you are getting relief, it is two minutes well spent to find out.
This is general information, not advice for your circumstances. If you'd like it applied to your situation, get in touch — the first chat is free.
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