Business Rates

(asked on 20th January 2026) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025, to Question 95866, on Business Rates, how many and what proportion of hereditaments have seen their bills (a) increase, (b) remain the same and (c) fall following the revaluation and revised multipliers in England.


Answered by
Dan Tomlinson Portrait
Dan Tomlinson
Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 26th January 2026

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

The new, permanently lower tax rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government publishes data on the number of properties receiving business rates relief. This data can be found at the following link:
  
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-2025-to-2026

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