How to pay Amusement Machine Licence Duty
This guide offers a reminder of Amusement Machine Licence Duty payment deadlines and explains all of the available payment options.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) recommends that you make all of your Amusement Machine Licence Duty payments electronically. Paying electronically:
- is safe and secure
- gives you better control over your money
- provides certainty when your payment will reach HMRC
- avoids postal delays
- may lower your bank charges
- gives you up to seven extra days in which to pay
On this page:
- Amusement Machine Licence Duty applications and payment deadlines
- Paying in instalments by Direct Debit
- Paying by post
- Correspondence or receipt requests
- Information about the Faster Payment service
- More useful links
Amusement Machine Licence Duty applications and payment deadlines
You will need to apply for an Amusement Machine Licence using the necessary application or renewal forms. These forms will provide you with the rates of duty for each type of machine. If HMRC receives your application and payment for licence(s) after your requested start date, your licence will start from the date of receipt by HMRC. You can only make machines available for play from this day.
If paying by Direct Debit you can pay your Amusement Machine Licence Duty in 12 monthly instalments (see the section Paying in instalments by Direct Debit for details of payment deadlines).
Read more about licence application Notice 454 Amusement Machine Licence Duty
Read more about penalties: Notice 209 Civil Penalties
Paying Amusement Machine Licence Duty in instalments by Direct Debit
When applying for a 12-month licence you can apply to pay for it by 12 monthly instalments. There are no restrictions on the type or cost of the licence or the number of machines involved.
12 monthly instalments can only be paid by Direct Debit.
Once you have set up a Direct Debit Instruction with your bank or building
society, HMRC will automatically collect payment from your bank account.
Non-bulk users
- On the 22nd of each month (or the next working day).
Bulk users
- Last working day of the month for licences starting on the 1st to the 15th of a month.
- 13th (or next working day) of the month for licences starting on the 16th to the 31st of the previous month.
What happens if you don’t pay an instalment by the due date
First failure
You will be given seven days from the date of the notification of a dishonoured payment to make the payment.
Second failure
- The licence will be treated as having ceased to be in force from the time when the instalment became due.
- You will become liable for any unpaid duty.
- Any amusement machines found on the premises relating to the licence could be taken away.
Paying Amusement Machine Licence Duty by post
HMRC recommends that you make your Amusement Machine Licence Duty payments by Direct Debit, described elsewhere in this guide. Electronic payments are generally more efficient and secure, provided you give HMRC an accurate reference number.
However if paying by post please:
- make your cheque payable to ‘HM Revenue & Customs only’ followed by your Amusement Machine Licence Duty reference number and send it with your return using the pre-addressed envelope sent by HMRC. or to the address below
- do not fold the payslip or cheque and do not fasten them with paper clips or staples or in any other manner
If you are sending a payment to HMRC and do not have a pre-addressed HMRC envelope please send your payment to:
HM Revenue & Customs
Greenock Accounting Centre
Customs House
Custom House Quay
Greenock
PA15 1EQ
To allow for possible postal delays (for which HMRC are not responsible) please allow at least three working days for the payment to reach them.
Postdated cheques
You must date the cheque for no later than one day before you want the licence to start.
For administration reasons HMRC cannot accept postdated cheques more than one month before the licence start date.
If you pay by postdated cheque your licence will not be processed before the date shown on the cheque.
Licences issued against cheque payments that are dishonoured will be void and the amusement machine(s), if in play, will be liable to seizure.
To allow for possible postal delays (for which HMRC is not responsible) please allow at least three working days for the payment to reach them.
Read more about penalties: Notice 209 Civil Penalties
Amusement Machine Licence Duty correspondence or receipt requests
In order to minimise costs to all taxpayers HMRC does not automatically issue receipts for payments.
If you have made your payment electronically using one of the methods described elsewhere in this guide you can confirm from your own bank or building society statement that payment has cleared your account.
However, if you are paying HMRC by post and you need to ask for a receipt,
include a separate letter with your payment. HMRC cannot identify any
instructions written on payslips as they are processed automatically
If you wish to tell HMRC about a change (for example a new address)
you will need to include a separate letter with your payment if paying
by post or write to them separately if you have made your payment electronically.
Postal address for correspondence
HM Revenue & Customs
Greenock Accounting Centre
Customs House
Custom House Quay
Greenock
PA15 1EQ
Tel: 01475 881434 or 01475 881435 (open between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays).
Information about the Faster Payment service
HMRC is currently unable to receive or make payments using the Faster Payment service, which is offered by some banks.
For a bank’s customer to make a Faster Payment, both banks involved in the transaction need to be members of the Faster Payment Scheme. The Bank of England, which is currently HMRC’s banking supplier, made a decision some time ago to withdraw from the provision of retail banking services to its customers (one of which is HMRC) and has not joined the Faster Payment service.
HMRC is in the process of moving its business to a new banking supplier. Following this migration the opportunity for using the Faster Payments service will be reviewed.
More useful links
Find out more about Amusement Machine Licence Duty
