UK Business Rates Calculator

What the business rates calculator does

The calculator estimates the annual business rates bill on a commercial property in England. Enter the property’s rateable value and it works out the gross bill, the Small Business Rate Relief you may be entitled to and the net bill you would pay.

Business rates are a large fixed cost for most firms with premises. The bill is a rateable value multiplied by a set figure, then reduced by any relief. Small Business Rate Relief can remove the bill entirely for the smallest properties or reduce it on a sliding scale, and it is easy to underestimate how much it is worth.

What a rateable value is

The rateable value is the Valuation Office Agency’s estimate of the annual rent a property could command on the open market at a fixed valuation date. It is not the rent you pay or the sale price; it is a standardised figure used only to work out rates.

Because the bill follows the rateable value rather than real rent, two businesses paying very different rents can face similar bills if their properties have the same rateable value. You can look up your property’s rateable value on the official valuation list. It is the only figure this calculator needs.

How the bill is calculated

The gross bill is the rateable value multiplied by a figure called the multiplier, sometimes known as the poundage. For 2026/27 the small business multiplier is 43.2p and the standard multiplier is 48p. In England the small business multiplier applies below £51,000 of rateable value; there are also lower multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties and a higher one for properties valued at £500,000 or more.

The calculator uses the small business multiplier for rateable values up to the top of the relief band (£15,000) and the standard multiplier above it. For a property between £15,000 and £51,000 this gives a higher gross bill than the council would charge, so treat the result as an upper estimate in that range. It does not apply the retail, hospitality and leisure or high-value multipliers.

Small Business Rate Relief

Up to the full-relief threshold of £12,000, relief covers the entire bill, so eligible properties pay nothing. Between £12,000 and £15,000 the relief tapers evenly to nothing. A property at £13,500, halfway up the band, gets half its relief; one at £15,000 gets none. Above £15,000 no Small Business Rate Relief applies, so the net bill equals the gross bill.

For example, a rateable value of £12,000 gives a gross bill of £12,000 × 0.432 = £5,184, all of it removed by relief, so the net bill is zero.

What you need to enter

• Your property’s rateable value.

Use the figure on the official valuation list, not your rent. If you occupy more than one property, your eligibility for Small Business Rate Relief can depend on your overall holdings, so a single-property estimate may be too generous.

Reading your result

The output shows the net annual bill, the gross bill before relief and the Small Business Rate Relief applied, so you can see how much the relief is worth to you.

A net bill of zero means your property qualifies for full relief, though you may still need to apply to your council to receive it. If the relief is partial, the gap between gross and net shows what the taper saves. Above the relief band the net and gross bills match, and the multiplier drives the figure.

When to use this tool

• To estimate a business rates bill before taking on premises.
• To check whether a property qualifies for Small Business Rate Relief.
• To compare the rates cost of two properties with different rateable values.
• To budget for the fixed cost of occupying commercial space.

The government reviews multipliers and relief thresholds, and other reliefs, such as rural or charitable relief, may apply to your property. Confirm your entitlement with your local council and use this estimate as a starting point rather than a final bill.

Beyond the basic bill

Councils collect business rates, often in ten monthly instalments, so the annual figure becomes a smaller monthly commitment. Reliefs are not always applied automatically: Small Business Rate Relief may need to be claimed, so a property that qualifies for a zero bill can still be billed until you apply.

The Valuation Office Agency reassesses rateable values at each revaluation, most recently from April 2026. A revaluation can move your rateable value up or down, changing both the multiplier and the relief you qualify for, and transitional arrangements sometimes phase in large increases. If your rateable value changes, run the calculator again with the new figure.

This tool models England only. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own multipliers and relief schemes, so a property there needs its own nation’s figures for an accurate result.

This is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Business Rates Calculator

Use this Business rates calculator to get an instant, accurate estimate. The figures follow official GOV.UK guidance and every rate and threshold is kept up to date for 2026. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.