North West · 2025-26
Business Rates in Liverpool
Businesses in Liverpool paid £216.4m in net business rates during 2025-26, above the average English council's £93.2m.
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Relief granted in Liverpool
Share of £73.0m total relief, 2025-26.
Liverpool at a glance
Liverpool granted £73.0m in relief overall, higher than the national council average of £26.3m. This included £18.1m in Small Business Rate Relief and £16.1m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief.
A further £25.8m went to charity relief and £14.3m to empty property relief, reflecting the mix of ratepayers across the local authority.
Liverpool has an estimated 14,475 active businesses, according to the latest ONS Business Counts (2025).
Liverpool ranks 9 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 retail property in Liverpool rose by 9.4% — if this pushed your assessment too high, an appeal may be worth considering.
Frequently asked questions
How much are business rates in Liverpool?
Liverpool's local authority collected £216.4m 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 Liverpool?
Liverpool granted £73.0m in business rates relief in 2025-26, including £18.1m in Small Business Rate Relief, £16.1m in retail, hospitality and leisure relief, £25.8m in charity relief, and £14.3m 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.
Liverpool compared with the North West and England
- Average rateable value
- £27,663£2,334 above the North West average (£25,329)£6,327 below the England average (£33,990)
- Largest sector by value
- Other commercial property, 41.9%9.4 percentage points above its 32.5% share in the North West
- Total rateable value, 2023 to 2026 list
- +21.4%North West: +19.3%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
At £27,663, Liverpool's average rateable value ranks 154th of 296 councils in England and 10th of 35 in the North West. The largest group of Liverpool's rateable properties is retail property (28.4%), yet other commercial property holds the largest share of value (41.9%).
Retail makes up 28.4% of Liverpool's rateable properties and 25.5% of its rateable value, both above the 25.1% and 22.4% across the North West. At March 2026, Liverpool had 140 properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, 16th most of any English council and 0.8% of England's 16,900, and 190 on the 2026 list.
Change at the 2026 revaluation
Liverpool's +21.4% change in total rateable value at the 2026 revaluation was stronger than in 30 of the 34 other councils in the North West. The sharpest increase in Liverpool was in other commercial property, where total rateable value rose 27.9% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +25.6% for other commercial property across the North West. No sector fell in Liverpool: retail property moved least, up 9.4% at the 2026 revaluation, compared with +6.2% for retail property across the North West.
Reliefs
In 2025-26, relief in Liverpool came to 24.4% of gross rates payable, above the 21.2% for England as a whole. Charity relief was the largest of the four main reliefs in Liverpool, at 35.4% 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 Liverpool compares with the rest of the region: Business rates in North West, State of Business Rates in England 2026 →
Nearby areas
Compare with other councils in the North West
Other North West councils with their average rateable value, listed from the closest to Liverpool's £27,663.
- Business rates in West Lancashire£26,660 average rateable value, £1,003 lower than Liverpool
- Business rates in Cheshire East UA£25,164 average rateable value, £2,499 lower than Liverpool
- Business rates in Salford£24,727 average rateable value, £2,936 lower than Liverpool
- Business rates in South Ribble£31,474 average rateable value, £3,811 higher than Liverpool
- Business rates in Lancaster£31,654 average rateable value, £3,991 higher than Liverpool
- Business rates in St Helens£31,876 average rateable value, £4,213 higher than Liverpool
Figures from MHCLG National Non-Domestic Rates statistics (2025-26), ONS UK Business Counts (2025), and English Indices of Deprivation (2025).
Updates for Liverpool
By email.