In England, there are several types of business rates relief and support schemes aimed at small businesses. What you can get depends mainly on your property’s rateable value, your sector, and whether your bill has recently changed.
Here’s a clear breakdown of what’s currently available (including 2026 changes):
- Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) – the main one
This is the most important scheme for small businesses.
- If your property’s rateable value is below £12,000 → you can get 100% relief (pay £0 rates)
- Between £12,000–£15,000 → tapered relief (you pay a reduced bill)
👉 Key conditions:
- Usually applies if you only use one property (with some exceptions)
- You must apply through your local council
💡 This is why many very small offices/shops pay no business rates at all.
- Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR) (2026–2029)
This kicks in if your bill suddenly increases (e.g. after revaluation).
- Caps how much your bill can rise each year
- For 2026–27:
- Max increase = £800 or a % cap (5%–30%) depending on value
- Applies if you’ve lost other reliefs (like SBRR or retail relief)
👉 This is automatic — your council applies it if eligible.
- Transitional Relief
Designed to phase in big increases gradually after property revaluations.
- Limits how fast your bill can go up (or down)
- Works alongside SSBR
👉 Especially relevant after the 2026 revaluation changes.
- Retail, Hospitality & Leisure changes (important)
- The old Retail, Hospitality & Leisure (RHL) relief (e.g. 40% discount)
👉 ends in April 2026 - It’s being replaced by:
- Lower business rates multipliers for qualifying properties under £500k rateable value
👉 In simple terms: less headline “discounts”, but lower base rates instead.
- Local council discretionary relief
Councils can give extra help in certain cases:
- Hardship relief (if your business is struggling)
- Local growth schemes or high street support
- Charity / community relief (if applicable)
👉 This varies by area.
Contact: https://www.harlow.gov.uk/business/business-rates for help/advice for Harlow, Essex.
- Other niche reliefs
Depending on your situation, you might qualify for:
- Rural Rate Relief – for businesses in small villages
- Empty property relief – if a property is temporarily unused
- Improvement relief – if you upgrade your premises (newer scheme)
- EV charging point relief – 100% relief for certain installations
Big picture (2026 onwards)
The system is being reworked to:
- Reduce pressure on small/high street businesses
- Shift more cost onto large, high-value properties
- Smooth out sudden bill increases with caps and transitional schemes
Quick summary
If you’re a small business, the main help is:
- SBRR → can reduce bills to £0
- SSBR (2026) → limits increases if relief is lost
- Transitional relief → smooths big changes
- Lower multipliers (from 2026) → replaces some old discounts
- Local council support → case-by-case help
New multipliers
The structure for the 5 new multipliers will be:
- Small business RHL multiplier: RHL businesses with rateable value below £51,000.
- Small business non-RHL multiplier: Non-RHL businesses with rateable value below £51,000.
- Standard RHL multiplier: RHL businesses with rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999.
- Standard non-RHL multiplier: Non-RHL businesses with rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999.
- Large property multiplier: For all properties with rateable value of £500,000 and above.
The 2025 Autumn Budget will confirm the exact rates for each multiplier and the changes will take effect alongside the 2026 revaluation.
If you’re a small business but do not qualify for small business rate relief
If you occupy a property with a rateable value that does not exceed £50,999 and are not entitled to another mandatory relief, you’re considered a small business and you’ll pay lower rates even if you don’t get small business rate relief.
This is because your rates are worked out using the small business multiplier.
To find your business rates valuation, visit
https://www.gov.uk/find-business-rates