Plain-English analysis of the rating system — what’s changing, what it costs you, and how to check you’re not overpaying. Written from our own data and the VOAThe government body that sets every property's Rateable Value. From April 2026 the VOA is part of HMRC (see below), but 'VOA' is still the common name for the valuation side of the work.’s published figures.
Treasury officials are reported to be looking at raising the Small Business Rate Relief threshold from £12,000 to just above £17,000. We ran the numbers on what that would save a single high street shop.
Read the analysisNothing has been signed off, but four weeks of statements from the Prime Minister and his Treasury team point at up to £1bn coming out of the £30bn business rates take at the October Budget. Here is every statement that matters, what the press is briefing, and our own estimate of what the headline change would actually cost.
Read the analysisThe Valuation Office took a further £6.45m off England's rateable value base in August — a deeper cut than July's £4.36m and the second consecutive monthly fall. 997 properties were cut against 533 raised, and Check and Challenge activity stayed near record levels. Here's what moved, where, and what it means for your own bill.
Read the analysisNew Businessratechecker.com analysis names Rochdale England's worst-performing council for business rates; overcharging one in seven commercial properties a combined amount of £2.9m a year. Maidstone, Kirklees and Mid Suffolk aren't far behind. Here's how the ranking works, and what it means if you run a business in one of these boroughs.
Read the analysisVOA data shows requests to correct property records have rocketed from almost nothing in April to over 700 a week by July — and more than four in five have been accepted in full. Here's what's driving the surge, and what it means for your own rates bill.
Read the analysisThe government has confirmed a 20% cut to business rates bills for pubs, social clubs and live music venues from April 2027 — worth an estimated £1,100 a year to the average pub. Here's what's changing, how it's funded, and who misses out.
Read the analysisNew VOA data shows 57% of businesses that challenged their rates bill secured a reduction — better-than-even odds. But almost 130,000 cases were filed in a single quarter, and the queue is only getting longer.
Read the analysisBusiness rates bills are based on a valuation nobody checked in person. Here's why that leads to overpayment, what the government's own figures show, and the narrow window you now have to do something about it.
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