For 2025/26 The small business multiplier will be frozen at 49.9p.

The standard multiplier will be uprated by 1.6%, increasing the multiplier from 54.6p to 55.5p.

Further details on the multipliers and how your bill is calculated can be found on the Business rates overview page.

If the rateable value of your property increases significantly as a result of the revaluation, transitional relief limits how much your bill will increase each year to gradually phase in the changes to your bill.

For 2025, the scheme will restrict increases in bills to 25% for businesses with small properties (up to and including £20,000 rateable value); 40% for medium properties (up to and including £100,000 rateable value); and 55% for large properties (over £100,000 rateable value).

At the Autum Statement on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor announced the extension of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief until the 31 March 2026, at which point the relief will be replaced by two permanently lower multipliers for eligible businesses. 

The 2025/26 scheme will retain the existing eligibility criteria but reduce the level of relief to 40%, up to a cap limit of £110,000 per business. 

Some businesses will find that their relief has not automatically been awarded for the new financial year as we will be requesting an application form is completed to verify the business will not exceed the cash cap. Further details on the relief and a link to the application form can be found on the reliefs and exemptions page.

The Supporting Small Business scheme will cap bill increases at £600 per year for any business losing eligibility for some or all Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief at the 2023 revaluation.

If you’re eligible, your bills will go up by no more than £600 for the 2025 to 2026 tax year.* 

*Prior to the calculation of retail relief. 

Improvement Relief will support businesses wishing to invest in their property. It will ensure that no ratepayer will face higher Business Rates bills for 12 months, as a result of qualifying improvements to a property they occupy.

If, you have made qualifying improvements to your property, the Valuation Office will issue a certificate equal to the increase in the rateable value. Where, the same ratepayer has been in occupation of the property since the works started their bill will not increase for the first 12 months after the works were completed.

The way in which Milton Keynes receives payment of business rates for schools changed from 1 April 2022.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), will pay business rates directly to billing authorities on behalf of local authority maintained schools and academies. This change includes 16 to 19 academies that are not further education institutions.

Schools that fall into the above definition will continue to receive a bill for information only and for local accounting purposes but no payment is necessary. 

The Government introduced primary legislation on the 13 November 2024 to amend the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to end charity rate relief eligibility for private schools. 

As a result of this amendment, private schools run by charities are no longer eligible to 80% mandatory rate relief from 1 April 2025.