NewsAnalysis6 min read
Autumn Budget 2026: Business Rates — What Changes, Who It Affects and When
The Budget cuts business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England from April 2027: Small Business Rate Relief up to £18,000, 35% relief for pubs and a two-year freeze in real terms. Here is every change, who it affects and when it starts.
First look. This is our initial read of the Budget published on 28 October 2026. We will publish more detailed analysis in the coming days, including what the changes mean for businesses in your area.
The Budget cuts business rates for retail, hospitality and leisureLower rates in the pound for qualifying shops, pubs, restaurants, cafés, gyms, hotels and similar. Since 1 April 2026 this is a lower multiplier rather than a relief — there is no claim form, and your council decides who qualifies from its record of how the property is used. (RHL) businesses in England from April 2027. The changes are larger Small Business Rate ReliefA discount for smaller properties. Below a certain Rateable Value you pay nothing at all; above that there's a sliding-scale ('tapered') discount up to a higher threshold., more relief for pubs and a two-year freeze in real terms. Every change below applies to England only. You can read the full Budget on GOV.UK.
Every one of these reliefs is worked out from your rateable valueThe official estimate of a property's annual rental value on a fixed valuation date. Your rates bill is based on this figure, not on what you actually pay in rent.. If that value is too high, you could miss out on relief you are entitled to, or pay more than you should when the freeze begins. Now is the time to make sure your rateable value is correct, so you get the full benefit of the changes from April 2027. Check your property today.
Changes that lower bills
| What changes | Who it affects | When |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Rate Relief extendedFull relief up to a rateable value of £18,000, tapering to nothing at £21,000 | Qualifying RHL properties. Around 70,000 more businesses will pay nothing, including 3,500 pubs, 3,900 restaurants, 2,200 cafés and 1,700 hairdressers and beauty salons | 1 April 2027 |
| Pub relief rises from 15% to 35%Worth over £3,000 per pub on average, the government says | Pubs, social clubs and live music venues. Music venues with a rateable value of £1 million or more stay at 15% | 1 April 2027 |
| Bills frozen in real termsIncreases capped at CPI inflation. Rises from improving the property, or from losing other reliefs after 1 April 2026, are not covered | All qualifying RHL properties, of any size. About 14,000 restaurants avoid around £7,500 each and 120,000 shops around £3,250 each over the two years | 2027-28 and 2028-29 |
| Supporting Small Business scheme extendedBusinesses that received 2023 support keep it for another year | Around 37,000 small ratepayers, worth about £3,000 each on average | 1 April 2027, for one year |
| Valuation Tribunal appeal fees scrappedThe £150 and £300 fees go; fees already paid on 2026-list appeals will be refunded | Anyone appealing their rateable value on the 2026 list or later lists | Date not yet given |
The new Small Business Rate Relief thresholds
| Rateable value | Now (all businesses) | From 1 April 2027 (qualifying RHL) |
|---|---|---|
| 100% relief, pay nothing | Up to £12,000 | Up to £18,000 |
| Tapered relief ends | £15,000 | £21,000 |
Business rates multipliers from April 2027
The multipliersThe pence-in-the-pound rate the government sets each year. Your rates bill is roughly Rateable Value × multiplier, before any reliefs are applied. that turn your rateable value into a bill all go up on 1 April 2027. The new rates were not in the Budget report itself; the government published them the same day in its letter to councils. The main rates rise by about 3.5%, the same as September's inflation figure. The lower retail, hospitality and leisure rates are set 5.2p below them, so they rise by about the same percentage, and those properties' bills are also capped at inflation.
| Multiplier | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small business, retail, hospitality and leisureRateable value below £51,000 | 38.2p | 39.5p | +1.3p (+3.4%) |
| Small businessRateable value below £51,000 | 43.2p | 44.7p | +1.5p (+3.5%) |
| Standard, retail, hospitality and leisure£51,000 to £499,999 | 43.0p | 44.5p | +1.5p (+3.5%) |
| Standard£51,000 to £499,999 | 48.0p | 49.7p | +1.7p (+3.5%) |
| High value£500,000 and above | 50.8p | 52.5p | +1.7p (+3.3%) |
Changes that raise bills or tighten the rules
| What changes | Who it affects | When |
|---|---|---|
| Multipliers go upAbout 3.5% for most properties; see the table above | Every property, unless relief or the retail, hospitality and leisure freeze protects its bill | 1 April 2027 |
| Vape shops lose reliefNo longer eligible for the lower RHL multipliers or Small Business Rate Relief | Vape shops | 1 April 2027 |
| Adult Gaming Centres lose the RHL multipliers | Adult Gaming Centres | 1 April 2027 |
| 1p Transitional Relief Supplement continuesHelps pay for the RHL freeze | Properties whose bills fell, or rose by less than the transitional relief caps | Two years from 1 April 2027 |
| New General Anti-Avoidance RuleNew powers for councils against business rates avoidance | Businesses using avoidance schemes | After a consultation |
| Councils' legal costs coveredExternal legal costs paid when councils lose test cases against avoidance | Councils, and the businesses they pursue | 1 April 2027 |
Longer-term changes
| What changes | Who it affects | When |
|---|---|---|
| Councils keep more of your business ratesMayors get a share from April 2027, rising to 100% local retention | Councils and mayors; no direct change to your bill | By the end of the decade |
| Nine new Business Rates Retention ZonesCouncils keep growth above a baseline for 25 years | Councils in the chosen areas | Subject to approval |
| Help for properties with exceptional risesSuch as airports | Large infrastructure sites | When current transitional relief ends |
| Consultations aheadOn bringing empty properties back into use and on taxing online retailers more | Landlords, online retailers | To be confirmed |
More detail from the government's letter to councils
- “Qualifying RHL” keeps today's legal definition of retail, hospitality and leisure, minus vape shops and Adult Gaming Centres.
- The two-year bill freeze has no rateable value limit, but a property that is empty on 1 April cannot qualify that year.
- Adult Gaming Centres stay on the old Small Business Rate ReliefA discount for smaller properties. Below a certain Rateable Value you pay nothing at all; above that there's a sliding-scale ('tapered') discount up to a higher threshold. thresholds of £12,000 and £15,000.
- The limit for keeping Small Business Rate Relief when you take on a second property rises to a combined rateable value of £29,999, until 31 March 2029.
What we don't know yet
- When Valuation Tribunal appeal fees end. No start date has been given.
- The 2028-29 multipliers. These will be set next year.
What it means for your business
- Your rateable value matters more than ever. If you run a shop, café or restaurant with a rateable value just above £18,000, a small reduction could take your business rates bill to zero from April 2027.
- Appealing gets cheaper. With tribunal fees scrapped, the cost of taking a challenge further falls. If you have already paid a fee on a 2026-list appeal, look out for your refund.
- The freeze does not fix a wrong valuation. It caps how fast your bill rises, not the rateable value it is built on. If that value is too high, it stays too high.
Check how your property compares with similar ones nearby. We will follow up in the coming days with our own analysis of what the Budget means, area by area.
What this means for you
The quickest way to know whether any of this affects your own bill is to compare your rateable value with genuinely similar properties nearby. The summary is free and takes about two minutes.
Check my ratesSources
Independent service — not endorsed by the VOA or HMRC. We use published rating-list data under licence; official rateable values and formal decisions come only from the VOA/HMRC. England only.