Rate relief
Small business rate relief
Ratepayers who occupy a property with a rateable value which does not exceed £50,999 (and who are not entitled to other mandatory relief or are liable for unoccupied property rates) will have their bills calculated using the lower small business non-domestic rating multiplier, rather than the national non-domestic rating multiplier.
Generally, if the sole or main property is shown on the rating list with a rateable value which does not exceed £15,000, the ratepayer may receive a percentage reduction in their rates bill. For a property with a rateable value of not more than £12,000, the ratepayer may receive a 100% reduction in their rates bill. The relief tapers off where the rateable value is between £12,000 and £15,000.
This relief is only available to ratepayers who occupy either:
- one property, or
- one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,899.
The rateable value of the property mentioned in (a), or the aggregate rateable value of all the properties mentioned in (b), must not exceed £19,999 outside London or £27,999 in London on each day for which relief is being sought. If the rateable value, or aggregate rateable value, increases above those levels, relief will cease from the day of the increase.
The Government has introduced additional support to small businesses. For those businesses that occupy an additional property which would normally have meant the loss of small business rate relief, the Government has confirmed that they will be allowed to keep that relief for a period of 12 months.
Where a ratepayer meets the eligibility criteria and has not received the relief they should complete the application form below. Provided the ratepayer continues to satisfy the conditions for relief which apply at the relevant time as regards the property and the ratepayer, they will automatically continue to receive relief in each new valuation period.
It is important that certain changes are notified to us by a ratepayer who is in receipt of this relief. These are:
- the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and
- an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.
You can also see further information about small business rate relief on GOV.UK
Apply for small business rate relief
Use this form to tell us if you want to apply for or cancel your small business rate relief.
Apply for small business rate reliefSupporting small businesses relief
At the 2025 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR) scheme would cap bill increases where a business loses some or all of their small business rates relief (SBRR), rural rate relief, or retail, hospitality and leisure relief (RHL) as a result of their rateable value changing at the 2026 revaluation.
Supporting small business relief will apply to eligible ratepayers for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29.
The cap on the increase in your bill will be either £800 per year or the relevant transitional relief percentage as shown below, whichever is higher.
| Rateable value | Transitional % 2026/27 | Transitional % 2027/28 | Transitional % 2028/29 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £20,000 | 5% | 10% plus inflation | 25% plus inflation |
| £20,001 to £100,000 | 15% | 25% plus inflation | 40% plus inflation |
| Over £100,000 | 30% | 25% plus inflation | 25% plus inflation |
The government has also announced a one-year extension of the 2023 supporting small business scheme to 1 April 2027. Ratepayers who qualify for this extension will not qualify for the three-year 2026 supporting small business relief scheme. This support is applied before changes in other reliefs and local supplements. Find out more about the supporting small business relief scheme on GOV.UK.
Supporting small business relief will apply to eligible ratepayers for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Accessing the supporting small businesses relief
If you are eligible, the supporting small business relief will be applied automatically to your business rate account.
Who benefits from this scheme?
Supporting small business relief helps ratepayers of occupied properties who lost some or all of their small business rate relief, rural rate relief or retail, hospitality and leisure relief due to a change in their rateable value in the 2026 revaluation.
Supporting small business relief limits the increase per year in the bills of these ratepayers to a cash value of £800 or the relevant transitional relief percentage as shown above, whichever is higher.
The starting amount of your 2025/26 rate bill for this purpose is worked out based on a full year of occupied rates using your circumstances on 31 March 2026, including reliefs but without any Transitional Relief.
Those ratepayers who qualified for the 2023 supporting small business relief in 2025/26 will receive a one year extension to 1 April 2027.
Eligibility for supporting small business relief is not affected by a change in ratepayer. However, if the property becomes unoccupied, or becomes occupied by a charity or community amateur sports club, it will not be eligible for supporting small business relief when it is reoccupied.
Additional information
As with all reliefs, the amount awarded will be recalculated if circumstances change, such as a change of rateable value.
Supporting small business relief also counts towards the subsidy control limits.
Charity and registered community amateur sports club (CASC) relief
Charities and registered community amateur sports clubs are entitled to 80 per cent relief where the property is occupied by the charity or the club, and is wholly or mainly used for the charitable purposes of the charity (or of that and other charities), or for the purposes of the club (or of that and other clubs).
We can give further relief on the remaining bill at our discretion.
Contact the business rates team for further information on 01242 264255 or email business.rates@cheltenham.gov.uk.
To register as a CASC visit the HM Revenues and Customs website or call 0845 302 0203.
Pubs and live music venues relief 2026/2027
This relief is designed to help pubs and live music venues; they will be entitled to a further reduction of 15% after any other eligible rate relief(s).
The relief applies only to occupied properties. See full eligibility details for the pubs and live music venues relief.
To discuss your businesses eligibility for rate relief, please contact the business rates team on 01242 264255 or email business.rates@cheltenham.gov.uk