How a Welsh rates bill is built
Take the rateable value of the property, multiply it by the multiplier for the band that rateable value falls into, then take off any relief. That is the whole calculation, and it is the same shape as England's.
The rateable value is set by the Valuation Office Agency, the same body that values English property. This is a real difference from Scotland, where valuation is done by the Scottish Assessors. If you have dealt with an English rates appeal, the Welsh process will feel familiar.
Appeals follow the same first two stages as England. Check, then Challenge, both run through the Valuation Office Agency, under the process adopted on 1 April 2023. Where it diverges is the final stage: if you cannot agree at Challenge, the appeal goes to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales rather than England's Valuation Tribunal Service, on its own form and its own timetable, so a decision from an English tribunal sets no precedent in a Welsh case.
What is not shared is the multiplier. Wales runs three for 2026-27, and all of them fell — the first reduction in a Welsh multiplier since 2010.
| Multiplier | Applies to | Pence in the pound |
|---|---|---|
| Retail multiplier | Rateable value below £51,000 | 0.350 |
| Standard multiplier | Most other properties | 0.502 |
| Higher multiplier | Rateable value above £100,000 | 0.515 |
Small Business Rates Relief
Welsh Small Business Rates Relief is applied automatically by local authorities rather than needing an application, which is a genuine administrative advantage over the Scottish scheme. The thresholds, though, are tighter:
| Rateable value | Relief |
|---|---|
| Up to £6,000 | 100% — no rates payable |
| £6,001 – £12,000 | Tapers from 100% down to nothing |
| Over £12,000 | No small business relief |
Relief is limited to two properties per business in each local authority. Two named sectors get better treatment: post offices get 100% relief up to £9,000 rateable value and 50% between £9,001 and £12,000, and registered childcare providers in Wales get 100% relief.
- Gross bill on the retail multiplier£5,500 × 0.350 = £1,925
- Small Business Rates Relief100%
You paynothing
- Above the relief ceiling entirely£15,000 × 0.350
Rates bill£5,250
The same £15,000 shop in Scotland would still be picking up tapered Small Business Bonus relief, because that scheme runs to £20,000. This is the sharpest England-Wales-Scotland divergence in the whole rates system.
Larger rates bills
Above the relief thresholds the tiering means crossing £51,000 or £100,000 of rateable value costs more than the extra value on its own.
- Retail multiplier£40,000 × 0.350
Rates bill£14,000
- Standard multiplier£40,000 × 0.502
Rates bill£20,080
The same value, £6,080 apart, purely on what the property is used for.
- Higher multiplier£150,000 × 0.515
Rates bill£77,250
That retail-against-standard gap is the thing most worth checking. If your property is genuinely a small or medium retail shop below £51,000 rateable value, the retail multiplier is worth 15.2 pence in the pound against the standard one, and whether it has been applied is not always obvious from the bill.
Revaluation, transitional relief and the other reliefs
A revaluation took effect for 2026-27, and Welsh Government put transitional rates relief in place to phase in increases arising from it. If your rateable value moved sharply, the bill you receive may not reflect the full change yet — which is worth knowing before you budget next year on this year's number.
Beyond small business relief, the reliefs most often left unclaimed are:
- Charitable rate relief — 80% mandatory, with discretionary relief available on top at the council's option.
- Empty property relief, on its own Welsh terms.
- Enterprise zone relief, in the designated Welsh zones.
- Hardship relief, discretionary and rarely asked for.
Unlike small business relief, these are not automatic. They go through the council that issues the bill, and a business that moves premises has to apply again at the new address. We check this at the year end for clients with premises.
Multipliers and relief: Business Wales, non-domestic rates multipliers 2026-27 and Small Business Rates Relief. Rateable values are set by the Valuation Office Agency. Checked 24 August 2026.
See the Wales overview for the rest of what changes, or the Land Transaction Tax guide if you are buying the premises rather than renting them.
