How your business rates bill is calculated

If you have received your first Business Rates bill, see our understanding your bill page first as this explains all the different parts of the bill you have received.

To calculate your business rates charge, we multiply the rateable value set by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), by the annual multiplier set by central government.

To find out more about how the rateable value for your property is calculated, see the business rates pages on GOV.UK.

The multiplier applied to your account is based on:

• the rateable value of your property
• its usage, for example shop, barbers (where your rateable value is below £500,000)

You can find further information about multipliers on our multipliers page, including the multipliers that were applicable for previous years.

Example:

Your rateable is 95,000 and you are occupying a shop selling clothing to the public.

The applicable multiplier would be the standard (RHL) multiplier which is 0.43p.

The gross business rates charge would be £40,850 , this is calculated as follows: 95,000 x 0.43 = £40,850.

Once the gross business rates charge has been calculated, any supplements and/or reliefs will be applied to your account. These are applied in order as set out by the legislation.

Transitional relief and supporting small business relief

Transitional relief (TR) and supporting small business relief (SSBR) will be automatically applied to your account when your bill is calculated – you do not need to apply.

In respect of supplements, please note that for 2026/27:

• a 1p supplement will apply to all business rates bills. Those in receipt of transitional relief and/or the supporting small business scheme 2026 will receive further relief to offset this charge
• a 2p supplement is added to business rate bills for properties with a rateable value over £92,000. Download the GLA Crossrail BRS ratepayer communication 2026/27 (PDF, 2 page(s), 90KB)

Example:

Your rateable is 150,000 and your gross business rates charge is 72,000.

You are not entitled to SSBR or transitional relief, so you will need to pay both supplements in addition to your gross charge – this is calculated as follows:

• 150,000 x 0.01 = £1,500
• 150,000 x 0.02 = £3,000

£72,000 (gross charge) + £1,500 (1p supplement) + £3,000 (2p supplement) = £76,500 – this is the charge before any applicable reliefs.

Order of reliefs/supplements

The order in which supplements/reliefs are applied to your business rates bill is:

• improvement relief
• transitional relief supplement (TRS)
• transitional relief (TR)
• Crossrail supplement (BRS)
• small business rates relief (SBRR)
• supporting small businesses relief (SSBR)
• non-empty reliefs
• mandatory reliefs 
• discretionary reliefs
• retail/pub relief

You can find further information on all available discounts and reliefs on our reliefs and discounts pages.