Closing a Halifax Reward ISA

hansi

After my interest is added on 5th April, I will want to close my account with Halifax and just wondered if I can do this online by transferring the total balance to my nominated account, or is there an option to close the account online. I got to the page to set up the transfer, but didn't want to go any further until 5th April.

lolarentt

The only way to keep your ISA intact is to transfer to another ISA provider, but you do this through the new provider who pull it over from your current Halifax one - you don't need to wait till new tax year as it will still be your ISA from whatever year you took it out in. If you withdraw it to an ordinary account you immediately lose the ISA status completely and will have to reinvest as a new ISA for the current tax year, thus using up your allowanc for that year.

rb10

Interest will be added overnight on 5th-6th April.

If the account is closed prior to this date, then you will receive interest at the full rate of 3% up to the date of closure. If the account is left open, then the 3% rate lasts for one year from the date that the account was first funded.

Are you wanting to keep the money in an ISA, or do you need to spend it?

If you want to keep it in an ISA, then to retain it's tax-free status, then you would have to transfer it elsewhere. If you want to transfer it to an account anywhere other than Halifax, then you need to find an ISA that accepts transfers in (see here) and complete an ISA transfer form from the new provider. The transfer should be completed within one month. If you want to transfer it to a different Halifax ISA, then just phone them up. This should take about five minutes.

If do actually want to close the account, and can't find it online, then you can definitely do it over the phone.

hansi

Yes, thanks, I am aware of that, but I am closing the account as I am now a non taxpayer and can get a better rate elsewhere. I just wanted to know the procedure for closing the account online.

lolarentt

If you want to avoid the trauma of call centre contact then just transfer the complete balance to your nominated a/c once the interest has gone on. You may find there's a 'close account' option online, some of the old HBOS banks have one (eg Birmingham Midshires), others don't (Bank of Scotland). You may find it makes you leave 1p in, or gives you the option to close a/c when you set up the transfer.