Understanding your Business Rates bill

We do our best to make our bills clear and easy to understand, including how the amount you need to pay has been worked out.

We know, however, that the Business Rates system can be complicated. This page explains the information on your bill in more detail.

Transitional relief

For transitional arrangements, the amount of relief is calculated as follows:

• Base Liability (BL) – this is your annual Business Rates liability for the previous financial year
• Appropriate Fraction (AF) – this sets the maximum percentage by which your bill can increase following the revaluation

The table below shows the Appropriate Fractions that apply, based on your property’s rateable value and the relevant financial year.

Rateable value	2026/27	2027/28	2028/29
Small: up to £28,000	5%	10% plus inflation	25% plus inflation
Medium: £28,001 to £100,000	15%	25% plus inflation	40% plus inflation
Large: over £100,000	30%	25% plus inflation	25% plus inflation

Your Base Liability multiplied by the Appropriate Fraction represents the maximum amount your bill can increase. This capped amount is shown on your bill.

The transitional relief is the difference between your full annual charge for the current year, and the capped amount.

Transitional relief supplement

For 2026/27, a transitional relief supplement will appear on all Business Rates bills. You only pay this charge if you do not receive transitional relief or supporting small business relief.

If you do receive one of these reliefs, the supplement is shown on the bill but is automatically deducted within the relief calculations, so you are not charged for it.

The supplement applies where a property’s rateable value has not increased or has increased by less than the amount needed to qualify for relief following the revaluation.

The money collected from this charge helps fund the transitional relief scheme, which supports businesses whose rateable values have increased as a result of the revaluation.

Business Rates Supplement (BRS)/Crossrail Supplement

All properties with a rateable value greater than £92,000 are required to pay an additional levy that contributes solely towards the Crossrail project. The amount to be paid is 2p per £1 of rateable value.

Instalments

You normally have the right to pay your Business Rates over 10 monthly instalments, usually from April to January.

If you would prefer to pay over 12 instalments, email or call us to request this.

If you have any outstanding payments at the time of your request, we may ask you to bring your account up to date first.

Making payment

Your bill will tell you how we expect you to pay:

• Cash, which is where you should make arrangements to transfer the funds to us by the due date, or
• If you are set up to pay by direct debit

Arrears and credits

Your bill will also show whether you had any arrears or credits from previous years at the time it was issued.

If you have a credit and would like a refund, email businessrates@richmond.gov.uk with your account reference number and bank details so we can arrange repayment.