West Midlands · 2025-26
Business Rates in Birmingham
Businesses in Birmingham paid £425.6m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Birmingham
Share of £163.3m total relief, 2025-26.
Birmingham at a glance
Birmingham granted £163.3m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £46.6m in Small Business Rate Relief and £25.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £52.1m went to charity relief and £32.0m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Birmingham has an estimated 37,810 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Birmingham ranks 5 out of 296 local authorities in England on the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, where 1 is most deprived and 296 is least deprived.
Following the 2026 revaluation, the total rateable value of industrial property in Birmingham rose by 20.3% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Birmingham?
Birmingham's local authority collected £425.6m in net business rates income during 2025-26, based on the national multiplier applied to each property's rateable value, less any relief granted.
What reliefs are available in Birmingham?
Birmingham granted £163.3m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £46.6m in Small Business Rate Relief, £25.8m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £52.1m in charity relief, and £32.0m in empty property relief.
How do I know if I'm overpaying?
If your rateable value looks high compared to similar properties nearby, or you're not currently receiving relief you may be entitled to, it's worth checking your assessment. Use our free checker to compare your rateable value and see if you may be eligible for a reduction or backdated refund.
Birmingham compared with the West Midlands and England
- Average rateable value
- £25,806£2,416 below the West Midlands average (£28,222)£8,184 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 30.1%2.1 percentage points above its 28.0% share in the West Midlands
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +16.8%West Midlands: +17.4%England: +19.6%
Counts and rateable values are from the stock of properties at March 2026, on the 2023 rating list. Changes are from the 2026 revaluation, comparing the 2023 rating list with the 2026 rating list.
Property mix
Birmingham comes 181st of 296 English councils on average rateable value (£25,806) and 20th of 30 in the West Midlands. The same sector leads on numbers too: 35.6% of Birmingham's rateable properties fall in the other commercial category.
Retail accounts for 24.3% of Birmingham's rateable properties and 21.8% of its rateable value, compared with 24.2% and 20.1% across the West Midlands. At March 2026, Birmingham had 250 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, 6th most of any English council and 1.5% of England's 16,900, and 330 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Birmingham's +16.8% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation sits mid-table in the West Midlands: stronger than in 12 of the 29 other councils and weaker than in 15. The sharpest increase in Birmingham was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 20.5% at the 2026 revaluation, in line with the +20.4% across the West Midlands. No sector fell in Birmingham: retail property moved least, up 10.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +9.7% for retail property across the West Midlands.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Birmingham came to 25.0% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Birmingham, at 31.9% of total relief, above 29.7% across England.
Source: HM Revenue & Customs, using Valuation Office Agency data, and MHCLG relief returns. Open Government Licence v3.0. Method and rounding: /methodology.
See how Birmingham compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in West Midlands, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the West Midlands
Other West Midlands councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Birmingham's £25,806.
- Business rates in Stoke-on-Trent UA£25,880 average rateable value, £74 higher than Birmingham
- Business rates in Wychavon£26,342 average rateable value, £536 higher than Birmingham
- Business rates in Cannock Chase£25,199 average rateable value, £607 lower than Birmingham
- Business rates in Stratford-on-Avon£26,708 average rateable value, £902 higher than Birmingham
- Business rates in Walsall£24,158 average rateable value, £1,648 lower than Birmingham
- Business rates in Wolverhampton£24,134 average rateable value, £1,672 lower than Birmingham
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Birmingham
By email.