Find out who should register, how to register and what the band sizes and fees are for the Economic Crime Levy.
The Economic Crime Levy is a new levy. It applies to businesses that are already regulated for anti-money laundering purposes.
Who should register
This section has force of law under regulation 53 of the Finance Act 2022.
You must register if your UK revenue is £10.2 million or more in a financial year and either your:
- business is already regulated by HMRC for anti-money laundering purposes
- business is regulated by a professional body for anti-money laundering purposes
The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March of the following year.
You only need to register for the Economic Crime Levy once, but you will need to submit a return and pay the levy on an annual basis.
If you are supervised for money laundering regulations by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Gambling Commission, you need to follow their Economic Crime Levy processes. Do not register for the Economic Crime Levy with HMRC, submit yearly Economic Crime Levy Returns to HMRC, or pay the Economic Crime Levy to HMRC.
If you are part of a business group
You must register, submit yearly returns, and pay for the Economic Crime Levy at the entity level.
The levy will only apply to entities in your group who meet the requirements for registering.
If you are part of a partnership
You must register, submit yearly returns, and pay for the Economic Crime Levy at the partnership level.
You do not need to register for the levy if your UK revenue is less than £10.2 million in a financial year.
If HMRC and another professional body supervise your anti-money laundering activities
You must register, submit yearly returns, and pay the levy to that professional body. You do not need to register with HMRC.
For example, if both HMRC and the FCA regulate your anti-money laundering activities, you must register with the FCS.
Business sectors
The following business sectors are expected to need to register:
- credit institutions
- financial institutions
- auditors, insolvency practitioners, external accountants and tax advisers
- independent legal professionals
- trust or company service providers
- estate agents and letting agents
- high value dealers, casinos, auction platforms and art market participants
- cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers
How to register (this text will not have force of law)
Find out when and how you need to register for the Economic Crime Levy.
Band sizes and fees
The amount you need to pay will depend on your UK revenue for the financial year.
There are four size bands:
- small entities (less than £10.2 million in UK revenue)
- medium entities (between £10.2 million and £36 million in UK revenue)
- large entities (between £36 million and £1 billion in UK revenue)
- very large entities (over £1 billion in UK revenue)
Small entities do not need to pay the levy, however:
- medium entities must pay £10,000
- large entities must pay £36,000
- very large entities must pay £250,000
The amount you need to pay may be reduced if you carry out regulated activities for only part of the financial year.
