Changes to business rates from 1 April 2026

From 1 April 2026, there will be some changes to how business rates charges are calculated. These changes may affect the amount you pay.

Business rates multipliers, and retail, hospitality and leisure relief

In April 2026, the government will replace retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief with 2 lower business rates multipliers for properties with rateable values below £500,000.

Cheshire East Council will be responsible for determining which properties are eligible for these multipliers in line with government guidance.

What's changing

The current system uses 2 multipliers based on property rateable value:

• Small business multiplier: for properties with a rateable value below £51,000
• Standard multiplier: for properties with a rateable value of £51,000 and above

From April 2026, the system will expand to 5 multipliers. These will reflect both business type and property value:  

New multipliers from April 2026

Category	Rateable Value (RV)	Multiplier
Small Business RHL	Below £51,000	38.2p
Standard RHL	£51,000 – £499,999	43.0p
Small Business (Non-RHL)	Below £51,000	43.2p
Standard (Non-RHL)	£51,000 – £499,999	48.0p
Large (All Properties)	£500,000 and above	50.8p

RHL is retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. Multipliers shown in pence per pound of rateable value (RV).

Transitional relief

To support ratepayers facing large bill increases at the revaluation the government is introducing a redesigned transitional relief scheme that will limit increases on rates payable.

For more information, see transitional arrangements.

Transitional relief supplement

A 1p supplement will be added to the multipliers 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 (SSB) 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 retail, hospitality and leisure relief. The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 supporting small business scheme from 1 April 2026. 

For more information, see supporting small business relief (SSB) 2026.

Pubs and live music venues relief 

From 1 April 2026, eligible pubs and live music venues will be entitled to 15% off their 2026/27 rates bill after other reliefs have been applied. For the 2027/28 and 2028/29 financial years qualifying bills will then be frozen in real terms. 

For more information, see pubs and live music venues relief.

Revaluation of rateable values for 2026

Your business rates bill for 2026 will be based on your property’s new rateable value, which comes into effect on 1 April 2026. The Valuation Office Agency carries out a revaluation every 3 years to update rateable values for all non-domestic properties in England and Wales.

For more information, see the business rates revaluation page on GOV.UK.