Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Rateable Value thresholds, (i) inside and (ii) outside London, apply to (a) transitional relief and (b) supporting small business relief, from 2026-27, based on each small, medium and large bucket, in each of the next three years.

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. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including grassroots music venues, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates 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 support package includes a redesigned transitional relief scheme which caps bill increases. The Transitional Relief caps will be as follows for properties with a rateable value of:

- Up to £20,000 (£28,000 in London): in 2026-27 – 5%, in 2027-28 – 10% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 25% (plus inflation).

- £20,001 (£28,001 in London) to £100,000: in 2026-27 – 15%, in 2027-28 – 25% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 40% (plus inflation).

- Over £100,000: in 2026-27 – 30%, in 2027-28 – 25% (plus inflation), in 2028-29 – 25% (plus inflation).

The Government is also proceeding with a supporting small business scheme (SSB) capping bill increases for the smallest businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief. For any business whose value has increased so that they are no longer eligible for small business rates relief – which provides up to 100% relief from business rates for small businesses – we are capping their increase at the higher of £800 or the relevant Transitional Relief percentage cap for a property of their value, before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.

SSB eligibility and thresholds can be found at: Business rates relief: Small business rate relief - GOV.UK. Transitional Relief eligibility and thresholds can be found at: Business rates relief: Transitional relief - GOV.UK