Business rates guides
Plain-English guides to the 2026 rating list in England and Wales, checked against GOV.UK. Free to read, whether or not you use our checker.
Tools and explainers
- Free tool · England and WalesBusiness rates calculator 2026/27Free 2026/27 business rates calculator. Enter your rateable value to estimate your bill with the new England multipliers (38.2p to 50.8p) or the Wales multipliers, and small business rate relief.
- Guide · 2026 rating listHow to check your 2026 rateable valueFind your 2026 business rates rateable value, read the summary valuation behind it, and compare it with similar properties. Free, step by step, for England and Wales.
- Guide · Check and ChallengeHow to challenge your business rates: Check, Challenge and appealHow to challenge a 2026 business rates valuation yourself in England and Wales: valuation account, Check, Challenge within 4 months, appeal. Deadlines, evidence and costs explained.
- Guide · Reliefs 2026/27Small business rate relief 2026/27Small business rate relief in 2026/27: 100% off at a rateable value of £12,000 or less, tapering to £15,000. Second-property rules, supporting small business relief, Wales, and how to claim from your council.
- Explainer · 2026/27Business rates multipliers 2026/27 explainedThe five England business rates multipliers for 2026/27 (38.2p to 50.8p), who gets the lower retail, hospitality and leisure rates, the Wales multipliers, and past years for comparison.
- Explainer · 2026 revaluationWhy have my business rates gone up?Why business rates bills rose from April 2026: the revaluation to 2024 rents, lost small business or RHL relief, the new multipliers, transitional relief phasing, and a rateable value that may be too high.
- ExplainerWhat is rateable value?Rateable value explained: the Valuation Office’s estimate of yearly rent at 1 April 2024. How it’s calculated (Zone A, price per m², summary valuations), how it becomes your bill, and how to query it.
Check and Challenge, step by step
- 1Set up your business rates valuation account
- 2Claim your property
- 3Raise a Check
- 4Wait for the Check decision
- 5Start a Challenge and upload your pack
- 6After you challenge
By type of business
- Business rates for shops
- Business rates for offices
- Business rates for cafés and coffee shops
- Business rates for restaurants and takeaways
- Business rates for hairdressers and beauty salons
- Business rates for warehouses
- Business rates for workshops, factories and industrial units
- Business rates for pubs
- Business rates for hotels and guest houses