Changes to business rates from 2026
From 1 April 2026, there will be significant changes to how Business Rate charges are calculated. These changes may affect the amount you pay.
In the last two Autumn Budgets, the Chancellor announced support to businesses in England for 2026/27:
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Additional Retail Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) Non-Domestic Rating (NDR) multipliers
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Additional High-Value Non-Domestic Rating multiplier
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Transitional Relief & Supplement schemes
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2026 Supporting Small Business scheme (SSB relief)
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2023 Supporting Small Business scheme - one-year extension
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Extending the Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) grace-period from one to three years
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100% relief for Eligible Electric Vehicle Charging Points and Electric Vehicle only forecourts (EVCP relief)
NDR Multipliers and Qualifying Retail Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) Relief
From 1 April 2026, the government will replace RHL relief with two NDR multipliers for properties with rateable values (RV) below 500,000.
Winchester City Council will identify which properties are in receipt of these multipliers in line with government guidance. This guidance is attached on the right of the screen for information.
New multipliers from 1 April 2026
| Category | Rateable Value (RV) | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business RHL | Below £51,000 | 38.2p |
| Standard RHL | £51,000 – £499,999 | 43.0p |
| Large (All Properties) | £500,000 and above |
50.8p |
| Small Business (Non-RHL) | Below £51,000 | 43.2p |
| Standard (Non-RHL) | £51,000 – £499,999 | 48.0p |
Transitional Relief
To support ratepayers facing large bill increases at the revaluation the government is introducing a redesigned Transitional Relief scheme worth £3.2 billion.
Transitional Relief supplement
A 1p supplement to the relevant tax rate for ratepayers who do not receive Transitional Relief or the Supporting Small Business scheme to partially fund Transitional Relief. This will apply for one year from 1 April 2026.
2026 supporting small business scheme
Bill increases for businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief will be capped at the higher of £800 or the relevant transitional relief caps from 1 April 2026. The 2026 SSB relief scheme has been expanded to ratepayers losing their RHL relief. The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 Supporting Small Business scheme from 1 April 2026. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.
Extending the Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) grace-period from one to three years
Businesses will now keep their Small Business Rates Relief on their first property for three years after they take on a second property, instead of just one year
100% relief for eligible electric vehicle charging points and electric vehicle only forecourts (EVCP relief)
A ten-year 100% business rates relief for EVCPs separately assessed by the VOA and Electric Vehicle only forecourts to ensure that they face no business rates liability.
The regulations will be laid down in due course.