Business Rate Reductions

There are a range of reductions that businesses may qualify for. You can also find further information about Business Rates on the gov.uk website. Don't forget: if you move into, out of, or within Worcester you need to let us know as this will affect your bill. Please contact us with the details.

Hardship Relief

Businesses may be entitled to a reduction from rates if they are suffering hardship and they can show that the local community would suffer a loss if the business was to close.  

As each case needs to be determined on its merits you should contact us for further information.

Small Business Rate Relief

• To qualify your property's rateable value must be less than £15,000
• Your business only uses one property - you may still be able to get relief if you use more 

Qualifying businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or below currently get 100% relief. This relief will decrease on a sliding scale for rateable values between £12,000 to £15,000. In addition, such businesses will have their bill calculated using the small business rates non-domestic rates multiplier.

Qualifying businesses with a rateable value between £15,001 - £51,000 will have their bill calculated using the small business rates non-domestic rates multiplier.

If you wish to apply, complete the pdf Application for Small Business Rate Relief (204 KB)

Changes to Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Multiplier from 1 April 2026

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the UK Government announced that from 2026/27, existing Business Rate Relief for retail, hospitality or leisure (RHL) properties would be replaced by a lower rates multiplier to calculate the business rates payable on those properties.

The amounts of the new multipliers have been confirmed in the 2025 Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025.

New multipliers

Qualifying retail, hospitality, or leisure properties will be eligible for one of two new multipliers:

Small business RHL multiplier

For qualifying properties with a rateable value of under £51,000.

The multiplier will be 38.2p.

Standard RHL multiplier

For qualifying properties with a rateable value between £51,000 and £499,999.

The multiplier will be 43.0p.

There is no reduced multiplier for properties with a rateable value of ?500,000 or higher.

Properties that will benefit from the lower multipliers

Properties that are wholly or mainly used for qualifying retail, hospitality or leisure purposes will qualify for the relief. This is a test on the use of the property, not just on the valuation description applied by the Valuation Office Agency.

Only occupied properties are entitled to the lower multipliers.

• Further information on Business Rates Multipliers(opens in a new window).

• Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure fact sheet

Apply for RHL

Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief

The Government has announced that from April 2026, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and that bills will be frozen for a further two years.

Read the changes to Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief page for more information.

A new online estimator tool has been published to help you understand how the new relief reduces your 2026-27 business rates bill.

Estimate your business rates liability for pubs and live music venues in England here (opens in new window)

Charitable and Discretionary Relief

Registered charities, charitable organisations and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC's) are entitled to relief from rates on any non-domestic property that is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes.

Relief is given at 80 per cent of the bill. We have the discretion to give a further 20% relief on the remaining bill depending upon what the premises are used for.

We also have the discretion to give up to 50% discretionary relief on all or part of any rate bill for property occupied by certain non-profit making organisations for example; sports clubs, societies, village halls and youth associations.

If you wish to apply please contact us for an application form or click on the link below.

pdf Mandatory and Discretionary Rate Relief application form (203 KB)

N.B. If your annual turnover is in excess of £250,000 or your surplus is in excess of £25,000 then you will automatically be disqualified.

You can get further information on Rate Relief by visiting the gov.uk website.

Empty property

Business Rates will not be payable for the first three months that a property is empty.  After the 3-month period rates will be charged at 100% unless the property is exempt e.g. Listed buildings, empty properties owned by charities and community amateur sports clubs (NB. Industrial property will be exempt for 6 months), or has a rateable value of less than the following limits (see table below):-

Please note - due to the lowering of the Rateable Value limit from 18,000 to 2,600 with effect from 01 April 2011, you may now be subject to an empty business rate charge.    

In brief, office and retail premises receive 100% relief for the first three months, and industrial and warehouse premises will receive 100% for the first six months, from when the property becomes empty. All rate relief for these properties will end after this time and Non-Domestic Rates will be chargeable in full.

You can find more information about business rates at the gov.uk website.

Partially empty property

If only part of the premises is being used it may be possible to reduce the amount of business rates that are paid.

If you wish to claim this relief you should contact us immediately and we will arrange for one of our Visiting Officers to visit your premises.

The relief would stop if:

• the unoccupied part becomes occupied
• the property becomes completely unoccupied

Supporting Small Businesses Relief

In the 2017 Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced that a new scheme of relief would be made available to those ratepayers facing large increases as a result of the loss of rural rate and small business rate relief due to the revaluation.

To support these ratepayers, the ‘Supporting Small Businesses’ relief will ensure that the increase per year is limited to the greater of:

• a percentage increase of 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15% and 15% in 2017/18 to 2021/22 all plus inflation.  Unlike the transitional relief scheme, for the first year of the scheme the percentage increase is taken against the bill for 31 March 2017 after small business rate relief or rural rate relief; and
• a cash value of £600 per year (£50 per month).  This cash minimum increase ensures that those ratepayers paying nothing or very small amounts in 2016/17 after small business rate relief are brought into paying something

Ratepayers remain in the Supporting Small Businesses relief scheme for either 5 years or until they reach the bill they would have paid without the scheme. 

This relief has been automatically applied to eligible accounts and therefore there is no formal application process, however, for any further information regarding this relief, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.