Business rates for petrol stations: key facts
- The VOA values most petrol filling stations using a national scheme that links rental value to maintainable throughput: the litres of fuel a tenant following normal, prudent trading practices could sell.
- The forecourt shop is valued by reference to its fair maintainable trade (turnover excluding VAT), not by comparison with stand-alone convenience stores.
- Car wash machinery and petrol pumps are not rateable, but the car wash site, any car wash building and some underground tanks are.
- The VOA's own manual says small variations in throughput can have a major impact on the rateable value, because throughput is valued on a sliding scale and also affects the shop value.
- A new filling station nearby, roadworks affecting traffic, or a rebuilt competitor can be a material change of circumstances that may justify a lower value.
- In England, petrol stations are listed in government guidance as in scope for the lower retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) multipliers: 38.2p below £51,000 rateable value in 2026/27.
- The only petrol station in an eligible rural settlement (population below 3,000) in England with a rateable value up to £12,500 may pay no business rates under rural rate relief.
- You can check and challenge free yourself via a business rates valuation account, or a rating surveyor can do it for you.
How are petrol stations valued for business rates?
The VOA usually values a petrol filling station from rental evidence, analysed as a price per thousand litres of maintainable fuel throughput. A national scale turns the throughput into a value for the forecourt, and separate additions are made for the forecourt shop, the car wash and any other buildings.
Like every property, a petrol station's rateable value is meant to be the yearly rent it would let for on 1 April 2024, on the standard rating assumptions. But forecourt rents are driven by trading potential, so the VOA's method, agreed with industry bodies including the Petrol Retailers Association and Fuels Industry UK, works from trade figures rather than floor area alone.
The building blocks of a forecourt valuation
- Fuel: the station's maintainable throughput (all fuels, in litres) is put through a national scale. Value per thousand litres generally rises as throughput rises, because margins improve and costs don't grow at the same rate. This figure covers the forecourt itself: canopy, pump islands, hardstanding and the usual features.
- Forecourt shop: an addition based on the shop's fair maintainable trade (sales excluding VAT).
- Car wash and valeting: an addition for the rateable parts: the site, hardstanding and any car wash building.
- Other buildings: workshops, showrooms and similar are valued separately, usually by comparison with local values for that kind of building, with land used for car sales sometimes added.
The VOA's GOV.UK guidance lists the trade it may take into account: forecourt throughput and litres dispensed, shop sales, car wash sales, bunkered fuel and lottery sales. Lower-margin income such as bunkered fuel, low margin fuel card (agency) sales, lottery and PayPoint is valued at a lower level than ordinary retail fuel or shop sales.
What is maintainable throughput and why does it matter so much?
Maintainable throughput is the volume of fuel a hypothetical tenant could sell following normal, prudent trading practices, given how competing stations nearby trade. The starting point is the actual litres sold in the year before 1 April 2024, adjusted where that figure is unusual.
Throughput is the single most important number in a forecourt valuation. The VOA's rating manual says small variations can have a major impact on the final rateable value, because litres are valued on a sliding scale and the figure also feeds into the value given to the shop.
How the VOA arrives at the figure
- It starts from the throughput of all fuels sold in the year before the valuation date (1 April 2024 for the 2026 list).
- Its valuers are told to look at three years of volumes at your station and at competing forecourts, plus the pricing policies during that time.
- It may adjust actual sales if they were boosted or depressed by an out-of-the-ordinary pricing policy, for example consistently selling well below, or above, local prices.
- Significant customer credit accounts (not card payments) may justify an adjustment, as may a high share of low-margin fuel card or bunkered fuel sales, which affect profit per litre rather than throughput.
What usually doesn't change it
- The brand on the pole sign: the VOA does not normally adjust throughput for the brand of fuel sold.
- Your personal reputation: the manual says discounts for an operator's "personality" have generally not been made in settlements.
- A general fall in trade: drops not linked to a physical change in the locality (see below) should not lead to a lower value.
The VOA sends forecourt operators a request for rental and trade information (form VO 6020). It must be returned within 56 days, and there is a £100 penalty for not doing so. Your answers feed straight into the throughput figure, so keep a copy and explain anything unusual about the year at the time.
How are the forecourt shop, car wash and other buildings valued?
The forecourt shop is valued on its fair maintainable trade, not by comparison with high-street convenience stores. Car wash machinery is ignored because it isn't rateable plant, but the car wash site and any building are valued. Workshops and showrooms are valued separately by reference to local values.
The forecourt shop
Shops on forecourts range from a pay kiosk to a convenience store of several hundred square metres with thousands of product lines and branded coffee or food to go. The VOA values all of them by reference to fair maintainable trade, on the basis that a forecourt shop draws both passing motorists and local shoppers. It does not compare them with stand-alone convenience stores, and it measures the shop to net internal area (other buildings, such as workshops, to gross internal area).
This means a shop is not valued like the zoned high-street shops described on our business rates for shops page. What matters most is the turnover the VOA has adopted and whether it is reasonable for a typical operator.
Car washes and jet washes
Car wash plant is not rateable under the Plant and Machinery Regulations, so the machine itself is ignored. The VOA values the site, the hardstanding, any car wash building and any rateable tanks. The manual also says that an obsolete machine does not reduce the value, because the site is valued as if it could be fitted with modern equipment. If your car wash area has been removed, built over or permanently taken out of use, that is a physical change worth reporting through a check.
Pumps, tanks and canopies
Petrol pumps are not among the rateable classes of plant. Underground tanks are only rateable if they are, in effect, structures, for example encased in concrete. The forecourt scale already reflects the usual forecourt features.
Other buildings and land
Repair workshops, showrooms and similar buildings are valued by reference to local values, with allowance for any disadvantage caused by the forecourt, such as restricted access or visibility. An addition may be made where surplus land is used for car sales.
How do location, site layout and access affect a petrol station's value?
Location in relation to traffic flows, visibility, ease of access, one-way systems, nearby population, forecourt size and layout, and local competition all influence throughput, and so the rateable value. The VOA expects these to show up in the trade a station achieves.
The VOA's manual lists the factors that shape what a station can sell: position on the road network and traffic flows, visibility, how easy it is to get on and off the site, one-way traffic schemes, how many car owners live nearby, the size and layout of the forecourt, and competition from other stations. Its valuers are reminded that apparently similar stations can trade differently because of subtle differences in layout or access.
When you compare your site with others, look at those practical differences, not just the brand or the number of pumps. A tight entrance, a site on the "wrong" side of a dual carriageway, or a forecourt that can't take larger vehicles can all matter.
One rateable value or several?
A forecourt can contain more than one rateable property. A separately run hand car wash or a parcel locker operated by someone else may get its own entry in the rating list. On the other hand, a branded coffee or food counter run under a franchise, where the station operator stays in control of the whole site, is usually part of the one assessment. If you are paying for something another business occupies, or two entries cover the same space, raise it through a check.
Can a new supermarket station, bypass or roadworks lower my rateable value?
Possibly. The VOA accepts that a new filling station nearby, roadworks affecting traffic flow, or the redevelopment of a competing station can be a material change of circumstances. It compares your trade before and after the change, and only the effect of that change counts.
A rateable value can be changed during the life of the list if there is a material change of circumstances: a physical change to the property or its surroundings. For forecourts, the VOA's manual gives these examples:
- A new filling station in the area, such as a supermarket forecourt opening on the same road.
- Roadworks affecting traffic flow, which GOV.UK also gives as a general example of a change you can report.
- A competitor rebuilt (knock down and rebuild), particularly if it now has a much bigger shop.
A new bypass or a change to the road layout that takes traffic away from your site is also a change in the physical surroundings, although its effect depends on the facts. The VOA prefers a before-and-after comparison of your trade, ideally monthly, and looks at how far away the change is, whether it is on the same road, whether it is temporary and whether other stations were affected. Its valuers are told to strip out trends that were already happening and general factors such as a recession.
For temporary problems such as roadworks, report the change through a check while it is still happening. A challenge about a change in the surrounding area must be made within 16 months of submitting the check. The process is explained on our how to challenge business rates page.
What should petrol station operators check on their valuation?
Check the throughput and shop turnover the VOA has used, whether a competitor, bypass or roadworks has been reflected, the shop's measured area, the car wash and other buildings, and whether anything run by someone else has been included in your assessment.
Add the station to your business rates valuation account and look at the valuation details. Then go through this list:
- Out-of-date throughput: is the litres figure based on the right year (before 1 April 2024), and does it include all fuels? Check against your own records.
- Unusual years not explained: a closure for tank replacement or refurbishment, or an unusually aggressive local price war, can distort the figures.
- Fuel card and bunkered sales: if a large share of your litres is low-margin agency or bunkered fuel, has it been treated at a lower value?
- Competition missed: has a new supermarket forecourt or rebuilt rival nearby been taken into account?
- Road changes: a bypass, a new one-way system, closed junction or long roadworks that cut passing traffic.
- Shop area and turnover: is the net internal area right, and is the turnover excluding VAT and excluding low-value lottery and PayPoint income?
- Car wash closed or removed: if the bay has gone or been built over, the value should reflect what is physically there.
- Other occupiers: a hand car wash or locker run by another business may need its own assessment.
- Workshops and land: are any workshop or showroom areas, and land used for car sales, described correctly?
Corrections of fact go in as a check, with evidence such as plans, photos and sales records. Bear in mind that the VOA treats other stations' throughput figures as confidential, so you will often be relying on your own figures and the summary valuations in the "Find a business rates valuation" service.
What multiplier and reliefs apply to petrol stations in England?
Government guidance lists petrol stations as in scope for the lower retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers, so an occupied forecourt in England usually pays 38.2p below £51,000 rateable value or 43p from £51,000 to £499,999 in 2026/27. Rural rate relief, small business rate relief, transitional relief and supporting small business relief may also apply.
The multiplier
The RHL multipliers apply to properties used wholly or mainly for retail, hospitality or leisure for visiting members of the public, and government guidance names petrol stations (and garages) as in scope. Where a site mixes uses, the council decides the main use, looking at things like floor space, turnover or staff. Empty properties never get the RHL multipliers. For the full list of multipliers see our business rates multipliers guide.
Reliefs that may apply
- Rural rate relief: if the station is the only petrol station in an eligible rural area with a population below 3,000, has a rateable value up to £12,500 and is occupied, you pay no business rates. A village can have both a qualifying pub and a qualifying petrol station or shop, as they are different types of business. Your council holds the list and maps of eligible areas.
- Small business rate relief: nothing to pay at £12,000 or less, tapering to nothing at £15,000, usually for one property. See our small business rate relief guide.
- Transitional relief and supporting small business relief: these limit increases after the 2026 revaluation. Supporting small business relief can help if you lost some or all of your rural rate relief or small business rate relief at the revaluation. See our transitional relief guide.
Worked examples, England 2026/27
Most properties that were in the rating list on 31 March 2026 also pay a 1p transitional relief supplement in 2026/27, unless they get transitional relief, supporting small business relief or rural rate relief. The examples below include it.
| Example | Calculation | Bill before other reliefs |
|---|---|---|
| Village forecourt, rateable value £11,000, the only petrol station in an eligible rural area | Rural rate relief: no business rates | £0 |
| Suburban station with shop, rateable value £35,000 | £35,000 × 0.392 (38.2p + 1p) | £13,720 |
| Main-road site with large shop and car wash, rateable value £90,000 | £90,000 × 0.44 (43p + 1p) | £39,600 |
Simplified illustrations: transitional or supporting small business relief could lower the second and third bills (and those properties would then not pay the 1p supplement). You can try your own figures in our business rates calculator.
Changes announced for 2027/28
Announced at the Budget on 28 October 2026, due from 1 April 2027 and subject to regulations: the RHL multipliers become 39.5p and 44.5p; bills for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure properties are capped by inflation in 2027/28 and 2028/29 (not where the value rises because of improvements or other reliefs are lost); small business rate relief for qualifying RHL properties extends to £18,000, tapering to £21,000; and the 1p supplement continues.
How are business rates for petrol stations different in Wales?
The VOA values Welsh forecourts the same way, on the same 1 April 2024 date. But Wales has its own multipliers and reliefs: a petrol station normally pays the standard 0.502 multiplier, small business rates relief stops at £12,000, and there is no separate rural rate relief in Business Wales's list of reliefs.
- Multiplier: Wales's lower retail multiplier (0.350) is limited to properties with shop-type descriptions in the rating list, such as "shop and premises" or "kiosk and premises". A forecourt described as "petrol filling station and premises" would normally pay the standard 0.502, or 0.515 above £100,000 rateable value. On a £35,000 rateable value that is £35,000 × 0.502 = £17,570 before reliefs.
- Small business rates relief: full relief up to £6,000 rateable value, tapering to nothing at £12,000, for up to two properties per business in each council area.
- Transitional relief: increases over £300 caused by the 2026 revaluation are phased in: you pay 33% of the extra in 2026/27 and 66% in 2027/28.
- Rural relief: Business Wales's overview of reliefs does not include a separate rural rate relief, so ask your council what applies to a village forecourt.
- EV charging: Wales gives 100% relief to stand-alone electric vehicle charging forecourts and bays, but a mixed forecourt selling petrol and diesel alongside EV charging is not eligible.
- Reporting duty: from 1 April 2026 you must tell the council within 60 days when you become the ratepayer or the property becomes occupied or empty, or risk a £500 penalty.
Appeals in Wales go to the Valuation Tribunal for Wales.
When might it be worth challenging a petrol station's rateable value?
A challenge may be worth considering if the throughput or shop turnover used looks wrong, if a new competitor, bypass or roadworks has reduced trade, if the car wash or shop details are out of date, or if your value looks out of line with similar forecourts. You can do it yourself for free or use a rating surveyor.
The route is Check, then Challenge, then Appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England or for Wales. You must raise a check first, then you normally have four months from the check decision to challenge, with all your evidence, a statement and the value you think is right. The value can go down, up or stay the same, and you keep paying in the meantime.
For a forecourt the evidence is mostly trade: litres by month and by fuel type, the split between retail, fuel card and bunkered sales, shop turnover excluding VAT, pricing information, and for a change in the area, figures before and after it happened. Evidence must go in with the challenge; later evidence is only accepted in exceptional circumstances.
You can do all of this yourself, free, through your valuation account. Reasons some operators use a rating surveyor:
- The throughput scale: because value per litre rises with volume, it helps to know how the national scheme treats your level of trade.
- Before-and-after analysis: showing the effect of a new competitor or road change, separate from general trends, takes care.
- Comparables: other stations' throughputs are confidential, so knowledge of how similar forecourts have been settled is useful.
- Deadlines: they track the time limits for you.
No challenge is guaranteed to succeed. Agree any surveyor's fees in writing before they start.
Related guides
Business rates for petrol stations: frequently asked questions
How are business rates for petrol stations calculated?
The VOA works out the station's maintainable fuel throughput and applies a national scale to value the forecourt, then adds value for the forecourt shop, car wash and any other buildings. Your council multiplies the resulting rateable value by the multiplier and takes off any reliefs.
What is maintainable throughput?
It is the volume of fuel, in litres, that a tenant following normal, prudent trading practices could sell at the station, having regard to how competing stations trade. The starting point is the actual throughput in the year before the 1 April 2024 valuation date.
Is the forecourt shop valued like a normal shop?
No. The VOA values forecourt shops by reference to their fair maintainable trade, because they attract both motorists and local shoppers. It does not compare them with stand-alone convenience stores or use high-street zoning.
Do I pay business rates on the car wash machine?
No, car wash plant is not rateable. The site, hardstanding, any car wash building and any rateable tanks are valued, and the VOA ignores the age of the machine because the site is valued as if it could have modern equipment.
A supermarket has opened a petrol station nearby. Can my rateable value go down?
It may. A new filling station in the area can be a material change of circumstances. The VOA usually compares your trade before and after it opened, and only the effect of that change counts, not general trends.
Does a new bypass or roadworks affect my business rates?
A physical change in the area that affects traffic, such as roadworks or a change to the road layout, can be reported through a check. For temporary disruption you must report it while it is still happening, and the effect depends on the evidence of lost trade.
Do petrol stations get the lower retail multipliers in England?
Government guidance lists petrol stations as in scope for the retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers if they are wholly or mainly used for selling to visiting members of the public. In 2026/27 that is 38.2p below £51,000 rateable value and 43p from £51,000 to £499,999.
Can a village petrol station get rural rate relief?
In England, the only petrol station in an eligible rural area with a population below 3,000 and a rateable value up to £12,500 can pay no business rates, provided it is occupied. Your council has the list of eligible areas.
Do I have to fill in the VOA's petrol station form?
If the VOA sends you a request for rental and trade information, you must return it within 56 days or you can face a £100 penalty. Keep a copy, because the figures feed into your throughput and you may need them if you challenge.
How are petrol stations treated in Wales?
They are valued the same way, but Wales has its own multipliers and reliefs. A forecourt normally pays the standard 0.502 multiplier, small business rates relief runs out at £12,000, and mixed forecourts are not eligible for Wales's EV charging relief.
Can I challenge my petrol station's rateable value myself?
Yes. You can check and challenge free through your business rates valuation account. A rating surveyor can do it for you if you prefer, and any fees are agreed with them directly.
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these official sources on 13 November 2026: