What is the 2026 revaluation?
Every few years, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) reassesses the rateable value of every non-domestic property in England and Wales, so that business rates bills reflect current property market conditions rather than values that are years out of date. The latest of these reassessments — the 2026 revaluation — took effect on 1 April 2026, replacing the rating list that had been in place since the 2023 revaluation.
Rateable value is the VOA's estimate of what it would cost to rent your property for a year on a fixed valuation date. Your local council then multiplies that figure by a “multiplier” (set separately by central government) to calculate your annual bill, before applying any reliefs you're entitled to.
Why this revaluation matters more than most
As with the run-up to the 2023 list, rateable values for 2026 are based on rents from a valuation date roughly two years before the list takes effect — so on rental evidence gathered well before the new figures went live. In the years between valuation dates, some sectors and locations have seen rents move a great deal, particularly where demand has shifted since the last assessment. That means a rateable value increase does not automatically mean a proportionate increase in your bill, but it also means many businesses are seeing a materially different figure to what they're used to — in either direction — and it's worth checking rather than assuming your new value is right.
Key point: an increase in rateable value does not necessarily produce the same percentage increase in your bill. Councils apply the relevant multiplier and any transitional relief or small business relief you qualify for, which can soften — or in some cases significantly change — the practical impact.
The support package alongside the 2026 list
Government has confirmed a £4.3 billion support package running over three years alongside the 2026 revaluation, aimed at cushioning the transition for ratepayers most affected. In broad terms, it includes:
- A £3.2 billion Transitional Relief scheme for larger ratepayers, phasing in bill increases (and decreases) gradually rather than all at once.
- A Supporting Small Business scheme worth over £500 million, capping how much bills can rise year-on-year for smaller ratepayers losing existing relief.
- £1.3 billion of additional, targeted support for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, on top of the standard reliefs available to that sector.
- New, permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000 — funded by a higher multiplier on the small number of properties valued at £500,000 or more.
Whether any of this applies to you, and how much it's worth, depends on your specific rateable value, sector, and property size — it isn't automatic and isn't always applied correctly by default.
The deadline that catches people out
There's a specific, time-limited window that's easy to miss: challenges against your 2023 rateable value (the outgoing list) had to be submitted by 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026 onward, only the new 2026 rateable value can be challenged going forward — historic overpayments on the old list, if the deadline has passed, generally can't be recovered through that route any longer.
If that window has already closed for you, the priority shifts to making sure your new 2026 figure is correct from day one, since VOA workloads mean the check-challenge-appeal process for the new list can itself take many months to resolve.
What business owners should do now
- Look up your new rateable value and compare it to what you were paying under the 2023 list, and to what comparable local properties are valued at.
- Check the property record the VOA holds is accurate — floor areas, use class, and any changes to the building since the last valuation are common sources of error that push a rateable value up unfairly.
- Work out what relief you're entitled to, including transitional relief, small business rates relief, and the sector-specific retail/hospitality/leisure support, and make sure your council is applying it.
- Get a professional opinion before accepting the figure, particularly if your rateable value has risen sharply or doesn't match what similar nearby properties are valued at — the earlier a challenge is lodged, the sooner it can be resolved.
How RVR Rating Partners can help
We review your new 2026 rateable value against comparable evidence, confirm what relief you should already be receiving, and where the figure looks wrong, we handle the full Check, Challenge, Appeal process on your behalf — see our step-by-step guide to that process for how it works.