“This support package will help them manage the transition to updated rates bills,” said Mark Drakeford as the Senedd signed off a £116m scheme to soften the jump in Welsh business rates from April 2026. For Northern firms trading across the border, that means Welsh‑based shops, warehouses and worksites won’t shoulder the full revaluation increase straight away.

The Non‑Domestic Rating (Chargeable Amounts) (Wales) Regulations 2025 take effect on 31 December 2025 and apply from 1 April 2026 through to 31 March 2029. Ministers say the approach broadly repeats the 2023 transitional scheme, with the rules locked in before the new lists start.

Here’s how the phasing works. If your revaluation pushes the bill up by more than £300, two‑thirds of that rise is knocked off in 2026‑27 and a third in 2027‑28. From April 2028 the full amount applies. The scheme is fully funded by Welsh Government, is not restricted by sector or size, and applies to both the local list and the central list.

Eligibility is tight and worth planning around. The same ratepayer must occupy the property on 31 March 2026 and on the day the bill is due. Properties that were empty on 31 March 2026 do not qualify, and there’s no relief where rateable value is apportioned for partial occupation under section 44A. Councils will adjust bills automatically, while central‑list ratepayers are handled by the Welsh Government.

A quick sense‑check. If a workshop’s bill rises from £10,000 to £13,000 on 1 April 2026, the first year’s bill would be about £11,000, the second year roughly £12,000, before the full £13,000 in 2028‑29. That smoothing buys cashflow time without masking the eventual rise.

Why this matters north of Offa’s Dyke. Plenty of Northern retailers, manufacturers and hospitality operators run sites at Deeside, on Wrexham Industrial Estate, along the A55 and out to Holyhead. With the 2026 revaluation landing on both sides of the border, finance teams need a single view of exposure across England and Wales.

England will run a different scheme from April 2026, using percentage caps on bill increases: 5%, 15% or 30% in year one depending on rateable value, with higher caps in later years and inflation added. Wales instead reduces the actual increase-67% in year one, 34% in year two. Cross‑border operators should budget on two sets of rules.

Two more Welsh changes arrive next spring. A lower retail multiplier of 0.350 will apply to small and medium shops, and the standard multiplier will be cut to 0.502, partly offset by a 0.515 rate for the largest properties. Ministers argue this backs high streets while keeping contributions from bigger occupiers fair.

Not everyone is convinced the package is sufficient. During the Senedd debate, members warned some hospitality and leisure businesses still face steep rises even with phasing. The government’s counter‑point: the relief is fully funded and mirrors the last revaluation’s approach.

What to do now if you’ve got sites in Wales: confirm who the liable ratepayer will be on 31 March 2026 so relief isn’t lost in a restructure, check new rateable values from the VOA, bake the two‑year taper into cashflow, and watch for councils to apply relief automatically from April. If you operate on both sides of the border, run side‑by‑side models for England and Wales before signing off 2026‑27 budgets.