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Following the change in Government last year, there has been some significant changes to Business Rates that will affect the rates liabilities for many ratepayers in 2025/26 and beyond.
As local authorities are now issuing rates bills for the 2025-26 financial year, we kindly request that you forward copies of your rates demands to us upon receipt.
This will enable our team to review whether the charges on the bills are correct so that they can be either be approved for payment or disputed with your local authority.
The existing 75% discount applicable to qualifying Retail, Leisure and Hospitality occupiers will decrease to 40% for 2025/26.
This relief is subject to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
This adjustment could substantially increase your rates payable.
The small business multiplier remains frozen at 49.9p, while the standard multiplier will rise from 54.6p to 55.5p.
|
2025/26 |
Rateable Value < £51,000 |
Rateable Value > £51,000 |
Crossrail supplement (London Boroughs only) RV > £75,000 |
City of London supplement RV > £51,000 (RV < £50,999) |
| Multiplier | £0.499 | £0.555 | £0.02 | £0.022 (£0.020) |
These changes will affect the calculation of your rates.
RV x Multiplier = Annual Rates Liability
The deadline for submitting appeals against the 2023 Rating List is 31st March 2026 - just over a year away.
Any appeals served after this date will be invalid.
To ensure we can assess whether an appeal is appropriate, we kindly ask you to provide us with details of your current passing rent, if applicable. This will allow us to review your position and, if necessary, lodge an appeal before the deadline.
Rating assessments with a Rateable Value above £500,000 have been targeted to pay a “large business rates multiplier” from 2026/27 onwards.
The large business rates multiplier is permitted in law to be as much as +10p greater than the standard multiplier.
This would equate to a +20% increase in liability based on the current multipliers.
For example:
|
  |
Winner |
Loser/strong> |
Difference |
| Rateable Value | £495,000 | £500,000 | £0 |
| Rate Liability (2026/27)* | £274,725 | £327,500 | +19% |
*Assumes a +10p increase to the current standard multiplier of 55.5p.
Although this is being briefed by Government officials as an “Amazon Tax” that will help pay for the “Retail, Leisure & Hospitality” relief scheme, this will not just affect large distribution warehouses, such as Amazon.
Large supermarkets, offices, department stores, retail warehouses, factories, airports, universities, hospitals, prime retail could all potentially incur a significant increase in rates liability.
Current data indicates c. 16,500 properties have a Rateable Value above £500,000.
Accordingly, we advise that those clients with large Rateable Values get in touch so we can review your circumstances and provide potential strategies to reconfigure your assessment size.
All properties will undergo a nationwide rating revaluation from 1st April 2026.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will assign you a new Rateable Value which is estimated to be published in a draft rating list in the Autumn.
The new multipliers for 2026/27 will be announced in the autumn budget.
We will be in touch again as soon as the draft list is published and multipliers are announced so you can budget accordingly.
GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR TEAM FOR MORE INFORMATION
Given these developments, it is crucial to assess how these changes may affect your budget forecast. Our team is ready to provide detailed analyses and guidance tailored to your situation.
Simply call or email the Daniel Watney team to get started. If you instead prefer us to get in touch with you, then fill this form with your basic details, and you will hear from us soon