Official Statistics

National non-domestic rates collected by councils in England forecast: technical notes

Published 18 February 2026

Applies to England

1. Data collection

All 296 billing authorities in England were required to complete the NNDR1 form to show their forecast for national non-domestic rates that they will collect in 2026-27.This statistical release is based on forms submitted from 294 authorities that had submitted in time for the publication to be produced.

NNDR1 forms were submitted by local authorities in England in January 2026. They have been approved by the Chief Financial Officer or Section 151 Officer to confirm that the form had been completed in accordance with schedule 7B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and the regulations made under it.

2. Data quality

2.1 Things to note on this release

Data in this release is derived from the national non-domestic rates (NNDR1) returns submitted by the 296 billing authorities in England that will be in existence from 1 April 2026.

Reliefs can change each year, so that year on year comparisons are not exactly comparable. This is particularly the case for years since 2020-21 with changes to the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief. Additionally, every few years, businesses will be subject to a revaluation, and this can also have an effect on the reliefs given. The latest revaluation affects the 2026-27 figures.

There were a number of changes introduced from the Non-Domestic Rating Act that mean that the data from 2024-25 onwards will be different to previous years. The main change relates to the decoupling of the standard and small business rating multipliers.

There were a number of changes introduced for 2026-27, including the introduction of two Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multipliers and a Higher Value multiplier, the discontinuation of the RHL relief and a Business Rates Retention system reset. Changes are explained in the statistical release.

2.2 Assessment of data quality

This statistical release contains Official Statistics and as such has been produced to the high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Official Statistics products undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer demands.

Figures are subjected to rigorous pre-defined validation tests both within the form itself, while the form is being completed by the authority and also by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) as the data are received and stored. The NNDR1 figures are forecasts for the year ahead made by local authorities based on the best data they have at the time. New changes are harder to forecast.

Finally, the release document, once prepared, is also subject to intensive peer review before being cleared as fit for the purposes of publication.

2.3 Operational context and administrative data collection

The information in this release is based on data returned to MHCLG by billing authorities in England on the National non-domestic rates (NNDR1) forms. They have been certified by Chief Finance Officers or S151 officers as correct. The data will be used to calculate payments that need to be made under the business rates retention scheme, both between billing authorities and major precepting authorities, and between MHCLG and local authorities. This effectively ensures a 100% response rate before payments are made.

2.4 Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

These statistics follow the Code of Practice requirements for trustworthiness, quality and value. The statistics are pre-announced for regular annual publication and are only shared prior to release with the published pre-release access list. The statistics are quality assured as described above. The data we publish are those required for the running of and informing the public about the business rates retention scheme, as described below.

3. Definitions

The most relevant terms for this release are explained below.

Billing authority – a local authority empowered to collect non-domestic rates. In England, shire and metropolitan districts, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, unitary authorities, London boroughs and the City of London are billing authorities.

Business rates – a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property in England (and Scotland and Wales), based on the notional annual rent for a property on the open market, known as the Rateable Value. Also called National non-domestic rates.

Business rates retention scheme – This commenced in 2013 and local authorities in England now receive a share of the business rates they collect in their local area. The scheme requires all billing authorities to submit two forms to the department: a forecast of the business rates they expect to collect in a given financial year in the January preceding it (NNDR1); and the actual business rates that they collected during the financial year in the September following it (NNDR3). The data from these forms is used to inform payments between central and local government.

Business rates retention scheme reset – these are a set of changes to the business rates retention system that will apply from 1 April 2026 as part of the wider Fair Funding Review 2.0. The reset allows government to redistribute retained rates income in line with relative needs and resources. The reset changes allowed government to simplify some elements of the system, which has resulted in changes to the NNDR collection. Details of the reset can be found at this link.

Central share payments – under the business rates retention scheme, local authorities retain 50% of the business rates they collect (unless they have a specific agreement to retain up to 100% business rates locally). The remaining 50% (or remaining share) is passed to central government as the central share. Billing authorities will make their central share payments to central government over the course of the financial year.

Charity relief – a relief within the business rates system that can be granted to registered charities.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) relief – a relief within the business rates system that can be granted to community and amateur sports clubs.

Designated Area – an Enterprise Zone or a New Development Deal.

Discretionary relief – in addition to mandatory reliefs, local authorities have the power to award relief at their discretion provided the hereditaments meet locally set criteria. The current categories of discretionary relief are shown in Table 2 of this release.

Discretionary scheme relief – In the Spring 2017 Budget, the government announced that a new scheme of relief to be administered by billing authorities for 4 years to 2020-21, to be applied according to their own framework. This relief is no longer available, but is included in the data for previous years.

Enterprise Zones – specific areas where a combination of financial incentives and reduced planning restrictions apply. Enterprise Zones benefit from:

• a business rate discount for a 5 year period up to state aid de minimis levels;
• all business rates growth above a baseline defined in legislation within the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be retained by the local area, to support the Local Economic Partnership’s economic priorities;

Empty Property Rates – business rates charged on an unoccupied property – i.e. charge to the owner of a property which is on the rating list but which has no business tenant.

Empty Property Rate relief – a relief within the business rates system that can be granted to the owner of an unoccupied property. Properties can claim 100% relief for the first 3 months (or 6 months for industrial properties) of being empty, after which they are liable for full rates. A hereditament with a rateable value of £2,600 or less is classed as “a small property” and following the initial rate-free period, continues to receive 100% relief.

From October 2013, the government introduced a temporary measure for unoccupied new builds which can be granted empty property relief for up to 18 months (up to state aid limits) where the property came on to the list between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2016. The 18 month period includes the initial 3 or 6 month exemption and so properties may, if unoccupied, have been exempt from non-domestic rates for up to an extra 15 or 12 months.

From April 2017 hereditaments with a rateable value under £2,900 get this extended relief until they are occupied.

Film Studio Relief - announced as a new relief in the Spring 2024 budget, this will be a 40% relief that can be claimed by eligible film studios until 2034. This is also backdated to 1 April 2024, but was been collected for the first time in the 2025-26 NNDR1.

Freeport Relief - relating to the 8 Freeports announced in the Budget 2021, local authorities are entitled to award discretionary relief to any business within the Freeport area. Local authorities are then entitled to compensation for the first 5 years of 100% of the relief awarded, paid through a section 31 grant.

Hereditament – the legal name for the unit of non-domestic property that is, or may become, liable to national non-domestic rates, and thus appears on the rating list. The list is compiled and maintained by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). These can include pylons, telephone boxes, advertising hoardings as well as offices, shops, warehouses, factories, and public buildings like hospitals and schools. A hereditament may be several buildings together, such as a university campus or just one office in a block. There are almost 2 million hereditaments in England.

High Value multiplier – At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government announced that from 1 April 2026, a high value multiplier would be applied to properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or above. The multipliers for 2026-27 were announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget as 2.8p above standard multiplier. This means the high value multiplier is £0.508.

Improvement Relief - introduced through the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 , the mandatory relief is provided where businesses make improvements to properties that they occupy. From 1 April 2024, businesses that have made qualifying improvements may benefit from 100% relief from any higher bills as a result of that improvement for 12 months. The scheme will run until 1 April 2029.

Investment Zone relief - in the Autumn Statement 2022, the government announced that it would create new Investment Zones. Investment Zone relief is awarded within the designated tax site for the Investment Zone. The boundaries of the designated tax site and the designated area for Business Rates Retention does not have to match exactly. Where the tax site does overlap with the business rates retention designated area, relief in respect of hereditaments in the tax site will be awarded at 100% of the value. Where the tax site does not overlap with the business rates retention designated area, relief in respect of hereditaments in the tax site will be awarded based on the local retention share of the authority. Compensation to local authorities of the relief awarded is paid through a section 31 grant.

Local Government Finance Act 1988 – the main legislation in respect of business rates; also called ‘the 1988 Act’ or ‘LGFA 1988’.

Local list – local rating lists include not only non-domestic hereditaments but also Crown properties, such as central government hereditaments and Ministry of Defence establishments. The income from properties on local rating lists is collected by billing authorities and a proportion is retained as part of the business rates retention scheme.

Local newspaper relief – this is relief was announced in March 2016, this relief provides a £1,500 discount on office space occupied by local newspapers. This was originally set to be available from 2 years from 1 April 2017 but has since been extended. In January 2020, the government announced it would be available until 31 March 2025.

Losses in appeals – the owner/occupier of a hereditament will often appeal against the rateable value placed on their property. Under the business rates retention scheme, local authorities are required to make a provision for the amount that they expect to have to repay to rate payers following successful appeals.

Mandatory relief – hereditaments are automatically entitled to relief for all or part of their rates bill provided they meet the criteria set down in legislation. The current categories of mandatory relief are shown in Table 2 of the release.

NNDR – national non-domestic rates – a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property in England (and Scotland and Wales), based on the notional annual rent for a property on the open market known as the Rateable Value.

Nursery Relief – this relief was announced in March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and provided a 100% business rates discount in 2020-21 for hereditaments occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register and wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which were subject to business rates in the years 2020-21 and 2021-22. There was no rateable value limit on the relief.

Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 - there were a number of changes introduced in the Non-Domestic Rating Act that were introduced from 1 April 2024. Further details are described in the introduction section of the 2025-26 statistical release, at this link

(a) Decoupling of the multiplier – this is where the small and standard multipliers were decoupled so that the multipliers could be set separately. It also meant that the concept of a 1.3p small business rates supplement was removed.

(b) the small business multiplier’s eligibility was extended to properties below the threshold for the national multiplier at £51,000 which are vacant, on the central list or occupied by charities.

(c) the rural rate relief became a mandatory 100% relief, rather than a mandatory 50% relief, with a further 50% relief to be given through discretionary relief (funded and unfunded)

(d) the Low Carbon Heat Network relief became a mandatory relief, rather than the section 47 discretionary relief that has been in place since 1 April 2022.

(e) Improvement relief became a mandatory relief.

(f) The restriction preventing billing authorities from making a decision to award discretionary relief more than 6 months after the end of the relevant financial year was removed. From 1 April 2024 there are no restrictions in respect of the financial year 2023-24 onwards.

(g) Investment zones that have met the requirements to be designated will be designated in regulations. Those that have received that designation have been included in this data collection.

Pub Relief – in the Autumn 2017 Budget, the government announced that the scheme of up to £1,000 relief to be administered to pubs would continue into 2018-19. This relief was first announced in the Spring 2017 Budget and was in effect in 2017-18. This relief was discontinued for 2019-20. A new Pub and Music Venues relief was announced in late January 2026, and not captured in this NNDR data collection exercise.

Rateable value – RV – the legal term for the notional annual rent of a hereditament, assessed by the VOA. Every property has a rateable value that is based, broadly, on the annual rent that the property could have been let for on the open market at a particular date. Between 2017-18 and 2022-23, it was the value of the property at 1 April 2015, using a list compiled for 1 April 2017. Between 2023-24 to 2025-26, it was the value at 1 April 2021, using a list compiled for 1 April 2023. For 2025-26 onwards, it will be based on the value at 1 April 2024, using a list compiled for 1 April 2026. The RV is used in determining the rates liability, and therefore the bill. This will affect the comparability of data. Further statistics on the change in rateable values of the 2023 and 2026 draft lists can be found at this link

Renewable Energy – since 1 April 2013, local authorities are allowed to retain up to 100% of business rates from new renewable energy projects.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief – in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 the previous retail relief was expanded and provided a 100% discount to hereditaments occupied by all businesses that were classified as in retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, regardless of rateable value and which were subject to business rates in the financial year 2020-21. In 2021-22 the expanded relief was 100% with no cash cap for the first 3 months (1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021) and 66% for the remainder of the period. In the remainder of the period it was also capped at £105,000 per business or £2 million per business for those required to close based on the law and guidance on 5 January 2021. In 2022-23, the relief gave 50% relief for eligible businesses, with a £110,000 cash cap per business. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, the relief continued and gave 75% relief for eligible businesses with the same cash cap. In 2025-26 the relief reduced to 40% discount and the cash cap remaining unchanged. The relief has not been continued for 2026-27.

Revaluation – the rateable value of a property is generally re-assessed every few years, at revaluation, to ensure changes in property market rent values are taken into account. Therefore rateable values will go both up and down.

At revaluation, the multiplier is also amended to ensure that nationally, no additional revenue other than that which would have been due allowing for inflation, is collected.

The latest revaluation comes into effect on the 1 April 2026 and reflects the rental market as at 1 April 2024. The tables in this release therefore show a discontinuity between 2025-26 and 2026-27 because this affects gross business rates and the amount of relief granted. There is a similar discontinuity between 2022-23 and 2023-24 in relation to the 2023 revaluation.

At a Revaluation, the government puts in place a transitional scheme that protects small and medium business ratepayers from significant step-changes in bills, by phasing in increases over a number of years. The transitional scheme can change at each revaluation.

In Table 1, the 2022-23 scheme had both a cost of revenue foregone from phasing in bill increases and additional income from delaying reductions to bills. The transitional scheme for 2023-24 to 2025 only had a cost of revenue foregone which was fully funded by central government. The transitional scheme for 2026-27 has both a cost of revenue foregone and a supplement of 1p applied on top of the multiplier for those that don’t receive the transitional relief.

Rural Rate Relief – relief within the business rates system to help retain essential commercial services in rural areas. Mandatory Rural Rate Relief is available for a sole shop, general store or post office in a defined rural area with a maximum RV of £8,500 or a sole petrol filling station or pub with a maximum RV of £12,500. Prior to 2024-25, the mandatory relief was 50%, with authorities able to provide discretionary rural rate relief, up to an additional 50%. From 2024-25, Mandatory Rural Rate was 100%.

Section 31 (S31) grants – this refers to Section 31 of the Local Government Finance Act 2003 which makes it possible for government to pay local authorities grants towards their activities which are not covered by existing payment schedules or methods.

The business rates retention reset for 2026-27 changed the way in which reliefs were compensated for .

Section 47 (S47) – this refers to Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 which allows authorities to award locally funded discretionary discounts. These are not forecast.

Small Business Rate Relief scheme (also known as SBRR) – a scheme that provides a relief within the business rates system that can be granted to small businesses. Until 2024-25 this relief was primarily funded by a supplement (1.3p in 2023-24) included in the National Multiplier, which was used to calculate the rates liability for business with a rateable value greater than £51,000 (referred to as additional yield in the tables). In addition, businesses that fail other criteria are also liable for the supplement to fund the scheme (see table below).

An important change to the level of relief granted was introduced from 1 October 2010. It effectively doubled the level of Small Business Rate Relief granted. From 2010 to 2017 this was a temporary doubling. From 2017-18 this became a permanent change. The additional costs arising from this change in the scheme were met by the government. In addition, in 2017-18 thresholds changed for those eligible to the relief. The current thresholds are shown in the table below.

As part of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 and effective from the 1 April 2024, the standard and small business multipliers were decoupled, and the supplement was no longer required.

Rateable Value range	Multiplier payable	Relief Granted	Note
Below £12,000	Small business rate multiplier 2026-27: 43.2p or Small RHL multiplier 2026-27 : 38.2	100% rate relief on liability	This relief is only available for: -one property; -one main property and other additional properties, according to certain conditions. If these conditions cannot be met then the property is liable for the national non-domestic multiplier.
Between £12,001 and £15,000	Small business rate multiplier 2026-27: 43.2p or Small RHL multiplier 2026-27 : 38.2p	Relief is on a declining sliding scale from 100% to zero	This relief is only available for: -one property; -one main property and other additional properties, according to certain conditions. If these conditions cannot be met then the property is liable for the national non-domestic multiplier.
Up to £51,000	Small business rate multiplier 2026-27: 43.2 or Small RHL multiplier 2026-27 : 38.2p	No relief granted but bills calculated using the small business multiplier	This relief is only available for: -one property; -one main property and other additional properties, according to certain conditions. If these conditions cannot be met then the property is liable for the national non-domestic multiplier.
Rest	In 2026-27: RV of £51,000 to £499,999: Standard multiplier: 48.0p or Standard RHL multiplier: 43.0p; RV of £500,000 or above: Higher Value multiplier: 50.8p

Small Business Multiplier – The multipliers are set each financial year for England according to formula set by legislation, which from 2018-19 have been determined by the increase in the previous September’s Consumer Price Index. The small business multiplier for 2026-27 is £0.432. This has been reset with the 2026 revaluation and the introduction of other multipliers. Until 2024-25, the small business multiplier excluded the supplement that funded the Small Business Rate relief scheme. From 2024-25, the multiplier was decoupled from the Standard multiplier and can be set independently. Table 1a in the release provides details of the multiplier in other years.

Small and Standard RHL multipliers – At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government announced that from 1 April 2026, lower multipliers would be introduced and applied to all properties that are wholly or mainly used for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) purposes, unless they are unoccupied or have a rateable value of £500,000 or above. The multipliers for 2026-27 were announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget as 5p below the small or standard multiplier. This means for RHL properties with a rateable value below £51,000, the small RHL multiplier is £0.382 (5p below the small business multiplier) and for RHL properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999, the standard RHL multiplier is £0.43.

Standard Multiplier (previously known as the national multiplier) – the figure used to calculate a non-domestic rates bill from the rateable value. The rateable value times the multiplier gives the notional rates liability. The multipliers are set each financial year for England according to formula set by legislation, which from 2018-19 have been determined by the increase in the previous September’s Consumer Price Index. The standard multiplier for 2026-27 is £0.480. This has been reset with the 2026 revaluation and the introduction of other multipliers. Table 1a in the release provides details of the multiplier in other years.

Supporting Small Businesses relief – In the Spring 2017 Budget, the government announced a new scheme of relief to support small businesses. This relief was to be made available to those ratepayers losing some or all of their small business or rural rate relief due to the revaluation. In 2023-24 only, this relief also included discretionary transitional scheme relief. In 2026-27, this relief also covered ratepayers losing retail, hospitality and leisure relief.

Telecoms relief – this relief applied (retrospectively) from 1 April 2017 and ran for 5 years. VOA notified local authorities of the rateable value of any new eligible telecoms fibre.

Transitional protection payments – as a result of transitional arrangements (see Transitional Relief below), local authorities will collect less income than they would have done had transitional arrangements never been in place. To cancel out the effects of these transitional arrangements, transitional protection payments are made from central government to billing authorities.

Transitional Relief – when the rateable value of properties are reassessed (see Revaluation above) and transitional arrangements are put in place which moderate significant increases and decreases in bills. The transitional scheme was originally designed to be revenue neutral over the life of the scheme. This revenue neutrality was achieved by phasing in both the decreases in the rate bills of those who benefit from revaluation, and also the increases in the rates bills of those who face higher rates bills due to revaluation.

The transitional relief scheme for the 2017 Revaluation was designed to phase in significant changes in bills over a maximum of 5 years from 1 April 2017 and therefore expired at the end of 2021-22. Authorities were compensated for any transitional relief given in 2022-23 only through the Supporting Small Business Scheme relief.

The transitional scheme for the 2023-24 to 2024-25 in respect of the 2023 revaluation no longer covered phasing in decreases in the rate bills of those who benefit from revaluation, and only covered phasing in of increases in rates bills.

The transitional relief scheme for 2026-27 to 2028-29 in respect of the 2026 revaluation included the phasing in of increases in rates bills, and in 2026-27, a 1p supplement on top of the multiplier for ratepayers that are not eligible for transitional relief.

4. Revisions policy

This policy has been developed in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government Revisions Policy.

It covers two types of revisions that the policy covers, as follow:

4.1 Non-scheduled revisions

Where a substantial error has occurred as a result of the compilation, imputation or dissemination process, the statistical release, live tables and other accompanying releases will be updated with a correction notice as soon as is practical.

4.2 Scheduled revisions

The release will be updated to include data for Eastbourne and Lewes councils that did not submit their NNDR1 2026-27 form in time to be included in the original publication. We will also publish minor revisions that have been received after cut-off for this publication.

A further table will be published in March 2026 with the information collected on the NNDR1 (Supplementary) form which includes the number of hereditaments in receipt of small business rate relief, mandatory and discretionary rate relief as at 31 December 2025, and additional information on empty property and small business rate relief for 2026-27. This data has yet to be fully validated.

5. Other information

5.1 Uses of the data

The data in this Statistical Release are used to inform government policy on national non-domestic rates. It also allows for monitoring of the results of any policy or financial changes to non-domestic rates or reliefs.

Following receipt of NNDR1 forms, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) will calculate what every authority - both billing authorities and major precepting authorities - is entitled to as a safety net payment on account. The Department also uses the data to prepare a schedule of payments, which is sent to local authorities, detailing the amounts which will be paid, and when payments will take place. The schedule of payments under the business rates retention scheme covers payments for the central share, tariff and top-ups, transitional protection and safety net on account.

Data from the NNDR1 forms will also feed into Public Sector Finance estimates compiled by the Office for National Statistics and forecasts of public finance which are compiled by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Local authorities and their associations also use the data to make comparisons between authorities. Finally, the data are regularly used in answering parliamentary questions and various information requests.

The full set of data are published on the collection page.

5.2 Devolved administration statistics

Both the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government also collect non-domestic rates data. Business rates is a devolved policy so that there will be differences between the information collected. Their information can be found at the following websites:

• Scotland
• Wales:
  • In English
  • In Welsh

5.3 User engagement

Users are encouraged to provide feedback on how these statistics are used and how well they meet user needs. Comments on any issues relating to this statistical release are welcomed and encouraged. Responses should be addressed to the “Public enquiries” contact given in the “Enquiries” section below.

The Department has an engagement strategy to meet the needs of statistics users.