Business rates - Relief scheme opt out

Introduction

At the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor announced the extension of the business rates relief scheme for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.

The 2025 to 2026 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Rates Relief Scheme will provide eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 40% relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business.

Your new rates bill for 2025 to 2026 includes the 40% discount for the full financial year.

Under the cash cap, no ratepayer can in any circumstances exceed the £110,000 cash cap across all of their hereditaments in England. A business is only entitled to £315,000 over 3 years. So if your business has received the full award in 2022-23 and 2023-24 and £95k in 2024-25, you wouldn’t be entitled to relief in this year.

Where a ratepayer has a qualifying connection with another ratepayer then those ratepayers should be considered as one ratepayer for the purposes of the cash caps. A ratepayer shall be treated as having a qualifying connection with another:

1. where both ratepayers are companies, and
   1. one is a subsidiary of the other, or
   2. both are subsidiaries of the same company; or
2. where only one ratepayer is a company, the other ratepayer (the “second ratepayer”) has such an interest in that company as would, if the second ratepayer were a company, result in its being the holding company of the other.