Welsh Ministers have confirmed a two-year buffer on business rates rises from 1 April 2026, phasing in revaluation increases rather than landing the full hit at once. The regulations took effect on 31 December 2025 and run through to the end of 2028‑29.

Any bill that jumps by more than £300 because of the 2026 revaluation will be eased in: one‑third of the increase is paid in 2026‑27, two‑thirds in 2027‑28, with full liability from April 2028. The Welsh Government has set aside £116m to fund the relief.

Ministers are also resetting the multipliers for 2026‑27. The standard rate falls to 0.502, a new retail multiplier of 0.350 applies to small and medium shops, and a 0.515 rate will apply to the largest properties. It is the first cut to the standard multiplier since 2010.

Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language Mark Drakeford said the package will “help businesses manage the transition to updated rates bills”, alongside around £250m a year in permanent reliefs already in place, with officials noting roughly two‑thirds of properties receive some relief.

Eligibility is focused on existing occupiers. To qualify, a property must be on the rating list on 31 March 2026 and on the relevant day; the ratepayer must be the same; the premises must have been occupied on 31 March; and no partial‑occupation apportionment should apply. Councils will apply the relief automatically for local‑list properties, with the Welsh Government doing the same for central‑list sites.

The calculation is done daily and will be adjusted if a property’s chargeable amount drops during the period. It is not recalculated for inflation in 2027‑28; and because 2028 is a leap year, the daily deduction uses 366 before the glide path ends on 31 March 2029.

Retailers want ministers to go further. The Welsh Retail Consortium welcomed the lower retail rate but insisted “no store should pay more”, urging caution over any surcharge on medium and larger shops. CBI Wales says “fundamental reform of business rates is urgently needed” to spur investment.

For readers trading on both sides of the border, England is taking a different route from April 2026. There, annual increases will be capped by rateable value bands-5%, 15% and 30% in 2026‑27, rising in later years-rather than Wales’s flat 67% and 34% phasing. A chain with sites in Wrexham and Chester will see different cash‑flow profiles.

For high streets from Bridgend to Bangor, the immediate takeaway is breathing space. Smaller shops benefit from the 0.350 retail rate, while bigger premises face a marginal 0.515 supplement to help pay for it. Ministers describe the balance as modest, with the new three‑year revaluation cycle designed to keep bills closer to market conditions.

Businesses do not need to apply for transitional relief. If a bill looks off, the advice is to contact the local authority; if a property occupied on 31 March 2026 later becomes empty, entitlement can continue after any standard empty‑property holiday, provided the occupier has not changed.