Business rates: the 2026 revaluation

Occupants of non-domestic properties in the UK pay business rates to billing authorities (district and unitary councils). Business rate bills are based on a property’s assigned ‘rateable value’. This is multiplied by a ‘multiplier’ or ‘poundage’ to arrive at the property’s annual liability. Rateable values are an estimate of what it would cost to rent a property for a year. Business rates are a devolved matter in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

All rateable values are regularly reassessed: this is known as a ‘revaluation’. The next revaluations of non-domestic properties in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will take effect on 1 April 2026. New draft rateable values can be found at Find a business rates valuation (for England and Wales), the Assessors’ website (for Scotland), and on the Land and Property Services website (for Northern Ireland).

This means that ratepayers’ bills will change, sometimes substantially, from that date. A property’s rateable value may increase or decrease as a result of the revaluation. Additionally, England’s two multipliers are decreasing, from 55.5p and 49.9p to 48.0p and 43.2p. This change will cause bills to be less than they would otherwise have been, if those multipliers had not decreased. These two changes will have differing effects on individual properties.

In England, the UK government is also introducing three new multipliers into the business rates system from 1 April 2026. This will make a total of five multipliers in England. The Scottish Government operates three multipliers in Scotland. The Welsh Government will introduce two new multipliers from 2026/27, making a total of three in Wales.

The UK government will operate a transitional relief scheme and a Supporting Small Business scheme in England. These schemes place limits on the amounts by which bills for certain properties can rise each year after the revaluation.