isa allowance, how to find out....

downs523

how do i find out how much of my isa allowance i have used for this tax year, i moved some money into it, withdrew it, and vica versa but then decided to close it. before i open a new one now how can i be sure i dont put more that 3600 in over the whole year?

McKneff

you dont need to close any Isa before opening another one. If you have put funds in in this financial year as far as i know you cannot open another one before April 09.
Best thing you can do is ring them and they will give you the amount you can pay in before you go over your limit.

Oblivion

downs523 wrote: »

how do i find out how much of my isa allowance i have used for this tax year, i moved some money into it, withdrew it, and vica versa but then decided to close it. before i open a new one now how can i be sure i dont put more that 3600 in over the whole year?

Under the rules for cash ISAs, in any one financial year you are allowed to deposit a maximum of £3,600 in just one cash ISA. If you take any money out during that year, it does not increase that entitlement.

So, for example, if during the financial year you pay £3,000 into your cash ISA, but then withdraw £2000 leaving a balance of £1,000, you can still only legally deposit a further £600 during that year.

If you have closed this year's cash ISA, you cannot open another one this year, except for the purposes of transferring funds from another cash ISA you hold.

Dave.

innovate

Oblivion wrote: »

If you have closed this year's cash ISA, you cannot open another one this year, except for the purposes of transferring funds from another cash ISA you hold.

The "except for the purposes of transferring funds from another cash ISA you hold" is the important bit - - meaning you can open several ISAs per tax year (if that turns you on). There is nothing that stops you topping up any transferred amount to the maximum annual allowance in your new (second, third, etc) ISA for a tax year. Well, one thing that would probably stop you doing it more than once a year is that it usually takes banks ages to make the transfer.

It's also very important that the transfer is done by the banks, not by yourself - the minute you withdraw money from an ISA yourself, you lose the tax exempt status for future interest on the withdrawn money.