Guide summary

Apply to your local authority's business rates team to claim any relief
Have your non-domestic rates account number and property details ready
Check your rateable value on the Valuation Office Agency website first
Small Business Rates Relief: 100% relief up to £6,000 rateable value, tapering to 0% at £12,000
Registered childcare premises get 100% Small Business Rates Relief at any rateable value
Reapply each year for Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief, by 31 March 2027
Tell your local authority at once if you take on more properties, as relief may end
Ask about Improvement Relief: a 12-month delay on rateable value rises from improvements

If your business occupies commercial premises in Wales, you pay business rates (non-domestic rates) to your local authority. Wales has its own rates system, set by the Welsh Government, with a single multiplier and relief schemes that differ from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

If you operate in both Wales and England, pay close attention to the differences in thresholds and eligibility.

How business rates work (Wales)

Business rates calculation and multipliers in Wales (2026/27) - three multipliers (retail, standard, higher)

From April 2026 Wales uses three multipliers for business rates (non-domestic rates) — retail (35.0p), standard (50.2p) and higher (51.5p) — replacing the single 56.8p multiplier, and offers among the most generous small business relief schemes in the UK.

Retail multiplier (2026/27): 35.0p per £1 - retail properties with RV below £51,000
Standard multiplier (2026/27): 50.2p per £1 - most other properties
Higher multiplier (2026/27): 51.5p per £1 - properties with RV above £100,000
Small business relief - full: 100% relief for RV up to £6,000
Small business relief - tapered: 100% to 0% relief for RV £6,001 to £12,000
Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief: 15% discount for eligible premises (capped at £110,000 per business)

Non-domestic rates (Wales) (opens in a new tab)

Relief schemes in Wales

Wales offers several relief schemes that can significantly reduce your rates bill. The main schemes are Small Business Rates Relief (permanent), Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief for 2026/27, and the Welsh Improvement Relief scheme (available from April 2024).

Small Business Rates Relief

This is a permanent scheme with no annual renewal required. It is the primary relief for small businesses in Wales, though the thresholds are lower than in England and Scotland.

Small Business Rates Relief in Wales (expanded detail)

Detailed eligibility, thresholds, enhanced categories, and application process for the permanent Small Business Rates Relief scheme in Wales.

Wales operates a permanent Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) scheme that is among the most generous in the UK. The scheme provides relief based on the rateable value (RV) of the property, with full relief available for the smallest premises.

Full relief: 100% relief for properties with rateable value up to £6,000
Tapered relief: Tapered from 100% to 0% for properties with rateable value £6,001 to £12,000
Taper calculation: Relief reduces proportionally between £6,001 and £12,000
Eligibility: Available to all occupied non-domestic properties within the thresholds
Application: Apply to your local authority (billing authority)
Frequency: Permanent scheme (no annual renewal required)

Enhanced relief for specific categories

Certain categories of business receive additional enhanced relief beyond the standard SBRR thresholds:

Post offices receive additional relief above the standard thresholds
Registered childcare premises (e.g. day nurseries) receive 100% SBRR regardless of rateable value. This enhancement was initially introduced in April 2019 and has been made permanent by the Welsh Government

How to apply

Apply directly to your local authority's business rates team. You will need your non-domestic rates account number and property details. If your property qualifies, the relief will be applied to your rates bill. If your circumstances change (e.g. you take on additional properties), you must notify your local authority.

Childcare relief: 100% SBRR for registered childcare providers (made permanent)
Childcare effective from: April 2019 (initially temporary, now permanent)
Post office relief: Enhanced SBRR thresholds for post offices
Multiple properties: Ratepayers with multiple properties may lose eligibility
England comparison: England offers 100% relief to £12,000 RV, tapered to £15,000
Scotland comparison: For a single property, Scotland offers 100% relief to £12,000 RV, tapering to 25% by £15,000 and to 0% by £20,000; £35,000 is the combined-RV ceiling for multiple-property eligibility

Non-Domestic Rates - Small Business Rates Relief (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief

For 2026/27, eligible pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars and live music venues may receive a 15% discount on their rates liability, capped at £110,000 per business across Wales.

Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief in Wales (2026-27)

Welsh Government scheme providing a 15% non-domestic rates discount for eligible occupied food and drink hospitality properties, capped at £110,000 per business across Wales.

For 2026-27, the Welsh Government provides Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief for eligible occupied properties. It reduces the net non-domestic rates bill by 15%, subject to a cap of £110,000 per business across Wales.

Discount rate: 15% reduction on non-domestic rates net liability
Cap per business: £110,000 maximum total relief across all properties in Wales occupied by the same business
Current scheme period: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027
Previous scheme period: The broader 40% Retail, Leisure and Hospitality scheme ran from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Funding: Welsh Government grant funding to local authorities
Application: Apply to your local authority by 31 March 2027

Eligible properties

The relief applies to occupied properties used wholly or mainly for selling food or drink to visiting members of the public, including:

pubs, restaurants, cafés and bars
live music venues whose main use is live music performance

Properties that do not qualify

The 2026-27 scheme does not extend to the broader retail and leisure categories covered by the previous scheme. Shops, hotels and other accommodation, sports and leisure facilities, theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, offices and unoccupied properties are not eligible. The local authority determines eligibility based on the property's main use.

How to apply

Businesses must apply to their local authority's business rates team. Applications are typically required each year the scheme is renewed. The relief is applied after any other mandatory reliefs (such as Small Business Rates Relief or charitable relief) have been calculated.

Stacking with SBRR: Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief is applied after other mandatory reliefs
Property must be: Occupied (empty properties do not qualify)
Contact for queries: localtaxationpolicy@gov.wales

Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief 2026-27 (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

Improvement Relief

From April 2024, Wales introduced Improvement Relief, which delays any increase in your rateable value resulting from property improvements for 12 months. The Welsh scheme operates independently of England's equivalent.

Improvement Relief for business rates in Wales

Wales-specific Improvement Relief scheme providing a 12-month delay before rateable value increases resulting from property improvements take effect on business rates bills. Unique to Wales from 1 April 2024.

From 1 April 2024, the Welsh Government introduced Improvement Relief to remove a key barrier to business investment in property. Under the standard business rates system, improving a property can increase its rateable value and therefore the rates bill. Improvement Relief addresses this by providing a 12-month delay before the resulting rateable value increase takes effect.

This relief is unique to Wales. While the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 provides the enabling legislation for both England and Wales, Wales implemented improvement relief from 1 April 2024 under the Non-Domestic Rating (Improvement Relief) (Wales) Regulations 2023.

Relief period: 12 months from completion of qualifying improvement works
Effective from: 1 April 2024
Effect: Delays the increase in rateable value attributable to qualifying works for 12 months
Certification body: Valuation Office Agency (VOA) certifies the change in rateable value attributable to the works
Decision body: Billing authority (local authority) applies the relief once VOA certificate is issued and occupation condition is met
England comparison: England also introduced improvement relief from 1 April 2024 under separate regulations

How Improvement Relief works

When you carry out qualifying improvement works to your non-domestic property:

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) assesses whether the works qualify and issues a certificate confirming the increase in rateable value attributable to the works
The billing authority (your local authority) must be satisfied that the occupation condition has been met
For the 12 months following completion of the works, the increase in rateable value caused by the improvements is disregarded when calculating your rates bill
After 12 months, the full revised rateable value applies

Qualifying works

To qualify, the works must result in a positive change in the rateable value of the property. General maintenance and repair that does not increase the rateable value do not qualify. The VOA determines whether works meet the definition of qualifying improvement works.

Occupation condition

The property must be occupied. The billing authority verifies that this condition is met before applying the relief.

Key benefit: Businesses can invest in improving premises without an immediate rates increase
Qualifying works requirement: Must result in a positive change to the rateable value
Non-qualifying works: General repairs and maintenance that do not increase rateable value
Interaction with transitional relief: Transitional relief regulations amended to accommodate improvement relief

Non-Domestic Rates - Improvement Relief (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

Wales vs England: key relief differences

If you operate in both countries, or are choosing where to locate, these differences matter:

Relief scheme	Wales	England
Multiplier (2026/27)	Three multipliers: retail 35.0p (RV below £51k) / standard 50.2p / higher 51.5p (RV above £100k)	New six-tier multiplier system (varies by property type and RV band)
Small business: full relief	100% for RV up to £6,000	100% for RV up to £12,000
Small business: tapered relief	Tapered £6,001 to £12,000	Tapered £12,001 to £15,000
RLH relief (2025-26)	40% discount, capped at £110,000	40% discount, capped at £110,000
Improvement Relief	12-month delay on RV increase (from April 2024)	Also available from April 2024 (separate regulations)
Childcare relief	100% SBRR for registered childcare (permanent)	No equivalent enhanced childcare relief
Valuation body	Valuation Office Agency (VOA)	Valuation Office Agency (VOA)
Revaluation cycle	Every 3 years (next: April 2026)	Every 3 years (next: April 2026)

How to claim relief

Check your property's rateable value on the VOA website at gov.uk/find-business-rates
Contact your local authority's business rates team to apply for Small Business Rates Relief (if your RV is £12,000 or below)
If you operate in retail, leisure, or hospitality, apply separately for RLH relief through your local authority
If you have carried out property improvements, ask your local authority about Improvement Relief and confirm whether the VOA has certified the change in rateable value
If you believe your rateable value is incorrect, use the Check, Challenge, Appeal process through the VOA
If your circumstances change (e.g. you take on additional properties), notify your local authority promptly as this may affect your eligibility

Legal basis

Primary legislation and key regulations

Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 Primary 2023 · UK-wide Local Government Finance Act 1988 Primary 1988 · UK-wide The Non-Domestic Rating (Improvement Relief) (Wales) Regulations 2023 Welsh SI 2023 · England & Wales

Browse UK legislation legislation.gov.uk

Official guidance

Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief 2026-27 (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

businesswales.gov.wales · Wales

Check your rateable value (VOA) (opens in a new tab)

HMRC · Wales

Improvement Relief (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

businesswales.gov.wales · Wales

RLH Rates Relief 2026-27 (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

businesswales.gov.wales · Wales

Non-Domestic Rates - Small Business Rates Relief (Business Wales) (opens in a new tab)

businesswales.gov.wales · Wales

Non-domestic rates - GOV.WALES (opens in a new tab)

Business rates relief in Wales

Relief schemes in Wales

Small Business Rates Relief

Food and Drink Hospitality Rates Relief

Improvement Relief

Wales vs England: key relief differences

How to claim relief

Check your property's rateable value on the VOA website at gov.uk/find-business-rates

Contact your local authority's business rates team to apply for Small Business Rates Relief (if your RV is £12,000 or below)

If you operate in retail, leisure, or hospitality, apply separately for RLH relief through your local authority

If you have carried out property improvements, ask your local authority about Improvement Relief and confirm whether the VOA has certified the change in rateable value

If you believe your rateable value is incorrect, use the Check, Challenge, Appeal process through the VOA

If your circumstances change (e.g. you take on additional properties), notify your local authority promptly as this may affect your eligibility

Legal basis

Official guidance

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