Question of the week: Can I have more than one ISA?

MSE_Jenny

Q. Can I have more than one ISA?

A. Yes, but you can't pay new money into more than one ISA of each type per tax year. There are two types of ISA, and each year you get a £7,200 allowance, of which up to £3,600 can go in a cash ISA and the remainder in shares (these allowances are increasing in the very near future).

Once a new tax year begins on 6 April, you can open up a new ISA of each type with an entirely different provider, so over the years, since ISAs were set up in 1999, you could have lots.

Despite the fact that you can’t add new money into two ISAs of the same type during one tax year, you are allowed to transfer to a different ISA provider midway through a year.


Click reply to discuss

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Baldur

I currently only have four Cash ISA accounts (having consolidated and partially transferred ISAs over the years since the start of the ISA scheme), which will be reducing to three at the beginning of November when I transfer a maturing FRISA into another FRISA which accepts transfers.

KingL

Several people have posted recently about the scenario where somebody who is over 50 and has paid the (current) maximum of £3600 into a Fixed Rate Cash ISA which won't allow them to add any further funds into it after 6th October (when the HMRC allowance goes up for them).

Several of the IFAs who inhabit this forum have indicated that these people may open a brand new cash ISA and fund it with the extra £1500 allowance as long as it is with the same ISA Manager as the existing one (and if that ISA Manager is prepared to offer such a service). That is to say, HMRC can regard "both" cash ISAs as being just a single Cash ISA with that one ISA Manager.

muffin_man

I had a letter from Newcastle BS a couple of days ago informing me of their new MaximISA product, which allows you to split your annual allowance between different cash ISA products held with them. So, for example, you could have £3000 in a fixed rate ISA, earning a higher return because you know you don't need fast access to it. Then the remaining £600, which you have decided you'd like to have on hand 'just in case', can be put in an instant access ISA, allowing penalty-free withdrawels whilst still being tax-efficient.

Might be useful for some.

Baldur

MSE_Jenny wrote: »

Despite the fact that you can’t add new money into two ISAs of the same type during one tax year, you are allowed to transfer to a different ISA provider midway through a year.

ISAs can be transferred at any point in the tax year and multiple times, if required - the use of the term 'midway' suggests that only a single transfer roughly half-way through the year is possible.

Cannyone

Thank you. Can you please confirm if I have one of each type of ISA (Cash and Equity for a Maxi ISA), can I have the Cash ISA with one provided and the Equity part with a different provider? Thanks.

Lansdowne

Yes you can.

And the confusing term Maxi is no longer used.

RayWolfe

Thank you MSE for removing my post. Your time would have been better spent moving this to the ISA part of this forum as I suggested!

Lokolo

Thanks Dan :T

JohalaReewi

Shouldn't this be in the ISA forum?