Small Business Rate Relief: Do You Qualify?

What are business rates?

Business rates are a tax on non-domestic properties in England — shops, offices, warehouses, and any other premises used for business purposes. They are calculated based on the rateable value of your property, set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA).

Your annual rates bill: Rateable value × multiplier = rates payable

For 2025/26, the standard multiplier is 55.5p. The small business multiplier is 49.9p.

What is Small Business Rate Relief?

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) reduces or eliminates business rates for eligible small businesses in England.

Do you qualify?

You may qualify if your property has a rateable value below £15,000 and you only occupy one property (or additional properties each have a rateable value below £2,900).

| Rateable value | Relief | |---|---| | Up to £12,000 | 100% relief — no rates payable | | £12,001 to £14,999 | Tapered relief (between 0% and 100%) | | £15,000 and above | No SBRR, but small business multiplier applies if below £51,000 |

The multiple property rule

You can only claim SBRR on one property. If you have additional properties, you can still claim if each has a rateable value below £2,900 and combined rateable values are below £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

How to apply

Contact your local council's business rates department. SBRR is not always automatic — check your rates bill to see whether relief has been applied.

Other reliefs worth knowing

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief: For 2025/26, businesses with a rateable value below £51,000 can get 40% off their bill, up to £110,000 per business. Applies to shops, restaurants, cafés, bars, cinemas, and gyms.

Transitional Relief: Limits how much your bill can increase at a revaluation — protects businesses from sudden large increases.

Empty Property Relief: 100% relief for the first 3 months (6 months for industrial). Full rate applies after that.

Hardship Relief: Councils have discretion to grant this to businesses in genuine financial difficulty.

What if your rateable value is wrong?

Challenge it through the Check, Challenge, Appeal process via voa.gov.uk. See our dedicated guide on business rates appeals.

What to do next

1. Find your rateable value at voa.gov.uk/find-a-business-rates-valuation-service
2. Check whether you qualify using the thresholds above
3. Contact your local council to apply
4. Check whether Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief also applies

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Rates thresholds and multipliers change each financial year. ClearPath uses live data to verify current figures.