Business rate reliefs and exemptions

On 30th October, the Government announced a package of measures relating to Business Rates, as set out below.

The following are intended to be effective from 1st April 2025 although point 4, is currently subject to the Parliamentary process: 

1. The Small Business Rate Multiplier will be frozen for another year to protect businesses from inflation. This means the multiplier will remain at £0.499p for Small Businesses that qualify, with a rateable value below £51,000.
2. The standard multiplier will be uprated in April in line with September’s CPI figure (1.6%), increasing the multiplier from £0.546p to £0.555p.
3. The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief scheme, to be subject to new central government guidance anticipated to be published soon, will be extended for one year for 2025/26, retaining the existing eligibility criteria but reducing the level of relief to 40%, up to a cap of £110,000 per business.  
4. Charitable rate relief for private schools, except those ‘wholly or mainly’ concerned with providing full time education to pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, will cease.  
5. It is currently anticipated that all of the above will be automatically determined, applied and shown on your initial annual bill issued in March 2025. 

Further details concerning Business Rates reliefs and exemptions can be found at Business Rates Reliefs and Exemptions.

Additional measures were also announced at the Autumn Budget that are currently intended to be effective from 1st April 2026 and will be published in due course.