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The government has released fresh guidance on the new business rates discount for pubs and live music venues in England for the 2026/27 tax year. If you run a hospitality business, or a venue that hosts live performances, the new relief could reduce your rates bills over the next three years.
As announced in January 2026, eligible properties will receive a 15% reduction on their 2026/27 business rates bill. Those rates bills will then be frozen in real terms for 2027/28 and 2028/29. Further guidance will be provided nearer the time on how that freeze will work.
Which properties qualify?
To receive the relief, the property needs to be occupied and be wholly or mainly used as either a pub or a live music venue.
What is a pub?
A property is a pub if all the following apply:
- It’s open to the general public.
- It lets people in for free (except when occasional entertainment is provided).
- Customers can drink without having to buy food.
- Drinks can be bought at a bar.
Restaurants and cafes, nightclubs, and hotels are unlikely to be considered pubs for the purpose of the relief.
What counts as a live music venue?
A live music venue must be wholly or mainly used for live music performances put on to entertain an audience.
Ancillary activities, such as selling food and drink to the audience, would be unlikely to disqualify a property. The same would be true if there was infrequent use of the property to host a polling station or a community event.
Premises mainly used as nightclubs or theatres, based on planning use classes, are unlikely to be considered a live music venue.
There may be grey areas, especially when deciding whether an activity is a live music performance or instead the playing of recorded music. Guidance in the Licensing Act 2003 will be used to help with such situations.
How much will the relief be worth?
The discount is applied daily, at 15% of the business rates charge for each qualifying day.
The discount is applied after any mandatory reliefs due and certain other discretionary reliefs have already been given.
The relief is not subject to any cap.
What should businesses do now?
Local authorities are tasked with calculating the relief automatically once they have put their local scheme in place. Therefore, if the property meets the criteria, you should automatically receive any relief due on your 2026/27 rates bill.
In the meantime, it may be worth checking whether your current description and use of the property clearly match the definitions provided in the guidance.
