Since 1 April 2026 every shop in England has been billed on a new rateable value, and most independents on a new multiplier too. Check both before you plan next year's margins.
What changed in April
Every rateable value was reset. The 2026 revaluation is based on what each property would have cost to rent for a year on 1 April 2024. The rules below cover England only, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own.
The 40 per cent relief has gone. Retail, hospitality and leisure relief, worth 40 per cent up to £110,000 per business in 2025 to 2026, ended on 31 March. In its place are permanently lower retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) multipliers, set 5p below the national multipliers, for qualifying premises valued below £500,000. For 2026 to 2027:
- Small business RHL multiplier, rateable value under £51,000: 38.2p
- Standard RHL multiplier, £51,000 to £499,999: 43.0p
- Small business multiplier for other properties under £51,000: 43.2p
- Standard multiplier for other properties: 48.0p
- High-value multiplier, £500,000 or more: 50.8p
The reliefs that soften the change
Small business rate relief thresholds did not move. A single property valued at £12,000 or less pays nothing, and relief tapers off between £12,001 and £15,000.
Large increases are phased in. This year transitional relief caps the rise at 5 per cent for properties valued up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London), 15 per cent up to £100,000 and 30 per cent above that. Shops that lost some or all of their small business rate relief or 40 per cent relief can get supporting small business relief, which limits the increase to £800 a year or the transitional cap, whichever is greater. Ratepayers in neither scheme pay a 1p supplement on the multiplier for 2026 to 2027 only.
Check the bill and the valuation
Start with the multiplier. The lower rates apply only to property wholly or mainly used for retail, hospitality or leisure by visiting members of the public. Your council decides, and guidance warns that some properties that had the old relief may not qualify. On a qualifying shop valued at £30,000, the 38.2p multiplier gives £11,460 before reliefs or any supplement. At 43.2p it would be £12,960, so the wrong multiplier costs £1,500 a year.
Online sellers, note the exclusion. Warehouses storing goods for online sales do not qualify. A shop mainly selling to walk-in customers keeps the lower rate even if it also handles online or click and collect orders.
Check, challenge, appeal. The GOV.UK find a business rates valuation service shows your rateable value, how it was worked out and the values of similar properties. To correct details, raise a check case through a business rates valuation account. Ground floor sales space in shops is usually valued in zones starting at the front, so a wrong sales or storage area changes the figure. You then have 4 months from the check decision to challenge, and 4 months from the challenge decision to appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England, where the fee is £150 for smaller proposers or £300 otherwise. Keep paying rates while an appeal is outstanding.
Put the new figure into your margin plan
Rates are a fixed cost your sales have to cover. If your bill rose by £1,500 and you work on a 25 per cent gross margin, you need another £6,000 of sales to stand still. Take that number into your next price review. Our guide to protecting retail margins in 2026 covers the other levers.
Do not budget for relief that has not been announced. In July the government announced a 20 per cent cut for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England from April 2027, which does not cover shops. It said it will return to wider reform, including small business rate relief, at the Budget on 28 October. Until then, plan on the bill you have.