A guide to business rates

Non-domestic rates, or business rates, are collected by local authorities to enable those who occupy non-domestic property to contribute towards the cost of local services.

How we calculate business rates

Rateable value

Each non-domestic property has a rateable value set by the valuation officers of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). This doesn't include properties exempt from business rates.

The agency draws up and maintains a full list of all rateable values, which you can view on the GOV.UK website.

The rateable value of your property will be shown on the front of your bill. This figure broadly represents the yearly rent the property could have been let for on the open market on a particular date.

National non-domestic rating multiplier

We work out your business rates bill by multiplying:

  • the rateable value of the property, with
  • the business rates multiplier, which central government sets yearly in England on 1 April. This is normally changed each year in line with inflation.

Revaluations will now be held every 3 years. The latest revaluation came into effect on 1 April 2026.

Read more about Revaluation.

For 2026/27 there are 5 multipliers:

  • the small business, retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier is 38.2p
  • the small business non-domestic multiplier is 43.2p
  • the standard retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier is 43.0p
  • the standard non-domestic multiplier is 48.0p
  • the high value multiplier is 50.8p

Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the standard non-domestic rating multiplier. Those ratepayers who occupy qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties will have their bills calculated using the relevant retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier dependent on the rateable value, and a high-value multiplier for properties with rateable values of £500k and above. The current multipliers are shown on your bill.

Crossrail business rate supplement

The Greater London Authority (GLA) introduced a business rate supplement (BRS) in April 2010 to finance £4.1 billion of the costs of the £14.5 billion Crossrail project.

Read about the Crossrail Business Rate Supplement.