Confused about my ISA

danz0l

OK so i set up a cash ISA at natwest late last year and have saved up my allowance total of £3600.

As i understand it the tax year ended today so as from tomorrow my allowance resets to enable me to save another £3600 ? What i also don't get is do i continue to save into that preset up ISA or do i need to open a new account to reap the tax benefits, leaving my current ISA alone ?

Also my online banking doesn't tell me my current ISA AER rate so i'm not sure if this ISA i have is still competitive. How do i tell what the current rate is ?

Any help appreciated.

kieronb

You can put another 3,600 into the same ISA this financial year or open up another ISA and put 3,600 in that thus having two ISAa each with 3,600.
However, some ISAs allow you to transfer funds into it from another so if you find one that allows this and it has a better rate than your current natwest ISA you could transfer the 3,600 you already have and put in another 3,600 thus having 7,200 in the new ISA.
I have had a natwest cash ISA for a while and just opened a second one with them (cash ISA plus) as this had a better rate of 3.51%. But I couldn' transfer funds into ot from my existing ISA. Still, 3.51% seems to be one of the best rates around at present.

danz0l

Thanks for the response.

I have found i have an E-ISA currently at natwest but not sure how to find out what the AER rate now is since this credit crunch. Sorry to sound thick. Will look into the cash ISA plus as i already have over £1000 to transfer into it from my e-savings account which is doing nothing much for me. Is it legal to have both then ? I assume the tax free allowance os only for 1 account and a total of £3600 ?

danz0l

Ah i think i have i now. I believe the E-ISA at natwest is currently at 3.25% AER for anything under £10,000. Also i can only have a new allowance of £3600 tax free in ISA's each year and if i have two accounts that allowance is spread over the two.

The cash ISA plus from Natwest looked promising till i found you need to be an advantage gold member which costs £12.95 a month.

allan673

log onto internet banking, or go to the site.
there should be an interest rates link somewhere?
im in a similar position, my cash isa rate is a crappy 0.30%, i didnt realise how uncompetitive it was untill rescently - my own fault. got to switch it now somewhere.