Business rates for restaurants and takeaways ​

Business rates are the tax on the premises you trade from, and after rent and staff they are often one of the biggest fixed costs of a restaurant, café or takeaway. The system changed on 1 April 2026: every property was given a new rateable value, the 40% hospitality relief ended, and lower permanent multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure took its place. Some reliefs are applied automatically and some are not, so it is worth checking your bill. This guide covers England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

How your bill is worked out ​

• Rateable value. The Valuation Office (VO) gives your property a rateable value: an estimate of its open market rent. The values in force since 1 April 2026 are based on rents on 1 April 2024.
• Multiplier. Your council multiplies the rateable value by a multiplier, a figure in pence set each year, to get your bill before any relief.
• Reliefs. Any reliefs you qualify for then come off.
• The bill. Your council sends it in February or March for the year from 1 April.

The hospitality multipliers ​

From 1 April 2026, qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000 are billed on lower multipliers, set 5p below the national ones:

• rateable value under £51,000: the small business retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier;
• £51,000 to £499,999: the standard retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier.

Unlike the old relief, this is permanent and has no cash cap, so every qualifying site in a group benefits. Restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, sandwich shops, pubs and bars qualify. A takeaway qualifies if the premises are generally open to visiting members of the public, even if most of its sales come through delivery or online. A kitchen that is not open to the public is unlikely to qualify. Your council decides whether your property meets the definition.

Reliefs to ask about ​

Small business rate relief. If your business uses one property with a rateable value of £12,000 or less, you pay no business rates on it. Between £12,001 and £15,000 the relief tapers from 100% to 0%. If you take on a second property on or after 27 November 2025, you keep the relief on the first one for 36 months.

Supporting small business relief. If the 2026 revaluation increased your bill and you lost some or all of your small business rate relief, rural rate relief or retail, hospitality and leisure relief, your bill for 2026 to 2027 goes up by no more than £800 or a percentage cap, whichever is greater. Your council applies it.

Transitional relief. If the revaluation increased your bill, the increase is phased in over several years. Your council applies it automatically.

Pubs and live music venues relief. A pub that is open to the public, lets people drink without eating and sells drinks at a bar can get 15% off its bill for 2026 to 2027, on top of the lower multipliers.

Hardship relief and local discounts. Councils can give relief to businesses in financial difficulty, and some offer their own discounts. Ask your council.

If your rateable value looks wrong ​

Look up your property’s rateable value on GOV.UK, where you can also see how it was worked out. If you think it is wrong, use your business rates valuation account to report changes to the property, such as its floor area, or to challenge the value. Report changes that would affect your bill, such as an extension, a second site or the premises becoming empty, to your council promptly: a late report can mean a backdated bill.

A short checklist ​

• Look up your new rateable value from 1 April 2026.
• Check your bill uses the retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier, if you are open to the public.
• Ask your council about small business, supporting small business, transitional, pub or hardship relief, as they apply to you.
• Challenge the rateable value through your valuation account if it looks wrong.
• Tell your council about changes: a second site, an extension, closing for a period.

Sources ​

• GOV.UK, Business rates: rateable value, multipliers, bills, the revaluation in force from 1 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Business rates relief: small business rate relief, the end of retail, hospitality and leisure relief, supporting small business relief, transitional relief, pubs and live music venues relief, hardship relief.
• HM Treasury, Business Rates Multipliers: Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure, updated 30 March 2026: the two lower multipliers, the £500,000 limit, and which hospitality premises qualify (paragraphs 1 to 22).

This guide is general information, not tax advice. For your own premises, ask your council’s business rates team or a rating surveyor.