Can I get small business rate relief?

For businesses in England whose property has a rateable value under £15,000.

Applies to: England Last checked against official sources: 6 October 2026

You can if your property's rateable value is under £15,000 and your business uses one property. You pay no business rates at a rateable value of £12,000 or less. Between £12,001 and £15,000, relief tapers from 100% to 0%.

Contact your local council to check and apply.
If you get a second property, you keep relief on your main property for 12 months, or 36 months if you got the second property on or after 27 November 2025.
From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, properties below £51,000 pay a lower multiplier of 43.2p, or 38.2p for retail, hospitality or leisure businesses.

Different in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

Rules may be different in:

Scotland: Check mygov.scot for Scotland
Wales: Check gov.wales for Wales
Northern Ireland: Check nidirect for Northern Ireland

Key facts

Nothing to pay under £12,000
Taper to £15,000
Apply via council

How much relief you get in England

Small business rate relief depends on your property's rateable value. This is a figure set by the Valuation Office Agency, based roughly on the yearly rent the property could get.

Rateable value	Relief
£12,000 or less	100% (you pay no business rates)
£12,001 to £15,000	Goes down gradually from 100% to 0%
£15,000 or more	No small business rate relief

GOV.UK gives two examples of the taper. A rateable value of £13,500 gets 50% off. A rateable value of £14,000 gets about 33% off.

Business rates multipliers for 2026/27

Your bill before relief is your rateable value times a "multiplier". For 2026/27 in England:

Rateable value	Standard multiplier	Retail, hospitality and leisure
Below £51,000	43.2p	38.2p
£51,000 to £499,999	48p	43p
£500,000 or more	50.8p	50.8p

Worked examples (2026/27)

Example 1: a small office with a rateable value of £10,000. It is the business's only property. The value is under £12,000, so the bill is £0.

Example 2: a workshop with a rateable value of £13,500, using the 43.2p multiplier.

Bill before relief: £13,500 x 0.432 = £5,832
Relief at 50%: £2,916
Bill to pay: £2,916

If you have more than one property

Relief is usually for businesses that use one property. If you take on a second property, you keep relief on your main property for:

12 months, if you got the second property before 27 November 2025
36 months, if you got it on or after 27 November 2025

After that, you keep relief on your main property only if both of these apply:

none of your other properties has a rateable value above £2,899
the total rateable value of all your properties is under £20,000 (£28,000 in London)

If you lost relief after the April 2026 revaluation

If your bill rose because of the 2026 revaluation and you lost some or all of your small business rate relief, you may get supporting small business relief. For 2026/27 this limits how much your bill can go up, to no more than £800 or a set percentage cap, whichever is greater.

How to apply and what to report

Contact your local council to check if you qualify and to apply. Tell the council if your property becomes empty, you take on another property, you make changes that raise its value, or your business moves or changes what it does.

If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland

Business rates relief rules are different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The figures on this page are for England only.

Related guides

Where these figures come from

Get it done

This takes you to the official service, which is free to use.

Contact your council

Common questions

How do I apply for small business rate relief?

Contact your local council to check if you are eligible and find out how to get it.

Can I get small business rate relief if I have two properties?

You keep relief on your main property for 12 months, or 36 months if you got the second property on or after 27 November 2025. After that, none of your other properties can have a rateable value above £2,899, and the total must be under £20,000 (£28,000 in London).

How much relief do I get with a rateable value of £13,500?

You get 50% off your bill, and at £14,000 you get 33% off.

What if I lost relief after the 2026 revaluation?

You may get supporting small business relief, which in 2026/27 limits the rise in your bill to 5% or £800, whichever is greater, for properties with a rateable value up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London). Your council will adjust your bill if you are eligible.

Official sources

1.Small business rate reliefwww.gov.uk/business-rates-relief/small-business-rate-relief
2.Supporting small business reliefwww.gov.uk/business-rates-relief/supporting-small-business-relief

Checked against GOV.UK on 6 October 2026

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