Question about moving ISA

james_uk

Hi, im hoping for some advice about ISA's.

I am currently with Lloyds TSB using their online ISA, i dont remember exactly what interest rate it was when i first set it up just over a year ago (i know it was more than 1%), either way i have had my interest and the account now says it only gives 1%.

I have just signed up to the northern rock 1 year fixed isa which looks pretty decent, it gives a rate of about 3.10% and i would like to move my current money isa to it, my question is, i know the max amount you can save in a isa is £5.340, when i was on the site, it said if i save more than this i would get more money back, but i thought £5,340 was the max, so how does that work? I had been sticking to this amount in my current isa as i had read this was the max you could save in one year.

Can anyone let me know?

Thanks

James

james_uk

Can a mod / admin move this to the ISA section of the site, sorry, i have only just realised there was a specific area for ISA's.

Can anyone also please tell me, when moving all my money from 1 isa to another, am i ok just to do a straight online transfer then ask my current bank (lloyds tsb) to close my current isa as its only giving my 1%, idearly, i would have liked to have kept it open and still pay into that one too, but i dont want it now as the interest has gone down to 1% after a year, well so it says on the site anyway when i click to see how much that account now gives me.

thanks

[Deleted User]

If your first account was bought before this financial year it can be transferd into another account and not counted for this year. I have recently done the same without any problem.

westy22

am i ok just to do a straight online transfer then ask my current bank (lloyds tsb) to close my current isa

You must ask NR (the gaining company) to contact Lloyds (the losing company) to close your old ISA and transfer the balance to NR. This is so you retain the tax-free status of the previous ISA

james_uk

thanks westy very helpful, when i joined NR online, it did ask if i was going to be moving an existing isa, i said yes and if gave a list of options, the mainly one being just doing an online transfer, the account hasn't been approved yet so maybe i will see more after it has been.

will there probably be a link on my nr online account to do this then they will arrange the rest?

james

molerat

http://www.northernrock.co.uk/downloads/transferAuthorityForm.pdf but they should send you one with a pre paid envelope in your welcome letter.

Why the 3.1% when 3.35% is available ? http://www.northernrock.co.uk/savings/find/savings-accounts/1_Year_Fixed_Rate_E_ISA_Issue_25/

Mikeyorks

james_uk wrote: »

i first set it up just over a year ago .................................................. I know the max amount you can save in a isa is £5.340, when i was on the site, it said if i save more than this i would get more money back, but i thought £5,340 was the max, so how does that work? I had been sticking to this amount in my current isa as i had read this was the max you could save in one year.

If the existing ISA was set up in 2010-11 then your annual subscription allowance for that year was £5100 for a cash ISA. Which was then increased to £5340 from Apr 11 (2011-12) ........ and will rise again to £5640 for 2012-13.

So you can put those seperate limits into a cash ISA during the relevant period. But if you didn't place £5100 into it during 2010-11 (you could have £5100 + £5340 = £10440 by now?) then - up to 5th Apr 2012 - you can only add whatever figure you have left of your £5340 from this year. After 6.4.12 ......... you can subscribe a further £5640 ..... which can be to the transferred ISA within NR, or wherever else you choose if you decide to open a new one elsewhere.