Policy paper

Economic Crime Levy — changes to bands and charges

Updated 21 January 2026

Who is likely to be affected

Entities regulated for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 with an annual revenue of more than £10.2 million.

General description of the measure

This measure makes three changes to the bands and rates of levy.

The measure raises the charge for entities in the ‘medium’ band from £10,000 to £10,200 and changes the name of the band from ‘medium’ to ‘Band A’.

The measure will introduce a new band for entities with UK revenue of more than £500 million and not more than £1 billion with a charge of £500,000, splitting the current ‘large’ band.

The band for entities with UK revenue of more than £36 million and not more than £500 million will be renamed ‘Band B’.

The band for entities with UK revenue of more than £500 million and not more than £1 billion will be renamed ‘Band C’.

The measure raises the charge for entities in the ‘very large’ band from £500,000 to £1 million and changes the name of the band from ‘very large’ to ‘Band D’.

Policy objective

The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy was introduced to put in place long-term sustainable funding to tackle economic crime. This measure seeks to raise revenue to increase the funding available, whilst maintaining the objective that no business pays more than 0.1% of their revenue.

Background to the measure

This measure was announced at Budget 2025.

Detailed proposal

Operative date

The higher levy rate for entities regulated for AML purposes in Bands A, C, and D will first be charged for the financial year running from April 2026 to March 2027. The first payments following the rate changes will be due by the date set by the relevant levy collector.

Current law

Current law is contained in Part 3 of the Finance Act 2022 and The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/269).

The levy charges are set out in section 54(2) of the Finance Act 2022. The levy bands, which are based on a person’s UK revenue, are set out in section 55(1) of the Finance Act 2022.

A person’s UK revenue is their revenue for the accounting period ending in the financial year in accordance with section 56.

Proposed revisions

The levy charges for entities in Band A (previously the ‘medium’ band) will be increased from £10,000 to £10,200. Section 54(2) will be amended to introduce a new band C, and set the charge for this band as £500,000 in the case of an entity whose UK revenue for the relevant financial year is greater than £500 million but not more than £1 billion.

The charge for entities in Band D (previously the ‘very large’ band) will be increased from £500,000 to £1 million.

Summary of impacts

Exchequer impact (£ million)

2025 to 2026	2026 to 2027	2027 to 2028	2028 to 2029	2029 to 2030	2030 to 2031
—	—	+110	+115	+115	+115

These figures have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. More details can be found in the policy costings document published alongside Autumn Budget 2025.

Macroeconomic impact

This measure is not expected to have any significant macroeconomic impacts.

Impact on individuals, households and families

This measure is not expected to impact on individuals as it only affects entities regulated for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. It is not expected that that the levy fees will be passed onto consumers.

This measure is not expected to impact on family formation, stability or breakdown.

Equalities impacts

This measure only affects businesses, therefore it is not anticipated that there will be disproportionate impacts on those in groups sharing protected characteristics.

Administrative impact on business including civil society organisations

An estimated 1,300 to 1,400 businesses in band A (previously the ‘medium’ band) will now be required to pay an increased levy charge, rising from £10,000 to £10,200 per annum.

An estimated 100 to 110 businesses which have an annual revenue of more than £500 million and not more than £1 billion and are regulated for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes will now be required to pay an increased levy charge, rising from £36,000 to £500,000 per annum (band C).

An estimated 110 to 120 business in band D (previously the ‘very large’ band) will now be required to pay an increased levy charge, rising from £500,000 to £1 million per annum.

We expect administrative impacts on these businesses to be negligible, as no other aspects of the levy’s calculation or operation are changing. One-off costs will include familiarisation with this change. There are not expected to be any further one-off or continuing costs.

Customer experience is expected to remain broadly the same as this measure does not alter how businesses interact with HMRC.

The same impacts may also apply to a small number of civil society organisations, where these organisations are regulated for AML purposes and fall into bands A, C, or D.

Operational impact (£ million) (HMRC or other)

The levy is being collected by the three statutory anti-money laundering supervisors:

• HMRC
• the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• the Gambling Commission

Upfront costs to enable changes to IT systems to accommodate the new band system are expected to be up to £1.2 million. These costs will be funded through revenue raised by the levy. The FCA and Gambling Commission already keep a proportion of the revenue they raise to reimburse the collection costs they accrue, and additional funding will be transferred to HMRC to fund the necessary IT work.

Other impacts

Other impacts have been considered and none have been identified.

Monitoring and evaluation

The government has committed to regular reporting on the operation of the levy each year and will continue to report on the impact of this change transparently.

The government will undertake a review of the levy by the end of 2027, which may consider matters such as whether the levy:

• is meeting its original policy objectives
• should continue
• should remain based on just the AML-regulated sector
• is still being calculated and collected appropriately

Further advice

If you have any questions about this change, contact the relevant collector or HM Treasury.