Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

innovate

jonmcclelland wrote: »

After tax, my 2.8% pays 2.24% which is beating a handful of accounts.

Yep, and a FlexDirect at 5% (4% after basic rate tax) will beat even more, by almost twice the interest rate. Plenty of current accounts paying 3% (2.4% after basic rate tax), too. All these higher rates have some pre-reqs. but they aren't particularly hard to meet for most ISA savers.

jonmcclelland

boobbby wrote: »

Would you not be better off to now open a Halifax 2 year 2.5% cash ISA. You then would have 60 days to pay in this years allowance and/or transfer previous years ISA's. If you cant pay in next years allowance within the 60 days then yes! save up next years allowance with whoever gives the best rates.

My situation is the latter so that is what I'll do.

I'll look into going into the new Flex account at NW. I'm applying for a clarity credit card very soon for my May holiday, so I don't want to apply for too much too soon so this might be something I'll look into doing in April.

Good advice guys.

Special_Saver2

Kazza242 wrote: »

I am wary about over complicating the ISAs list, by adding links to taxable accounts (unrelated to the ISA offering) in an area where we are discussing ISA accounts with tax-free status.

There have been ISA accounts that have had linked feeder accounts which transfer funds automatically into the ISA. They are not very common but, some providers have offered them over the years.

I understand what Kazza is saying now and I agree - we do not want to confuse people, especially the less-experienced people who read posts on these threads.

As innovate has hinted at in a post above, if you have enough money for this April's ISA, then consider opening up one of the taxable 12 month regular savings accounts (posts 4-5 on the regular savings thread) around now so that when it matures, the funds can then be put straight into next April's cash ISA.

SS2

Kazza242

innovate wrote: »

Kazza, we are in entirely unprecedented times, where many current accounts pay a lot more net (after basic rate tax) than most ISAs.

I understand that we are in unprecedented times, but I always go back to what the Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List is all about. It is there to provide links and information on the best ISAs available.

I do agree that savers should be maximising the interest they receive. However, the people reading these threads have many different financial circumstances. What may be suitable (or financially prudent) for one person may not be suitable (or financially prudent) for another, which is why I have always stayed away from making assumptions, generalisations (and giving advice) on the ISAs list posting on the first page.

That sort of discussion is more suitable for the posts within the thread, (where you can find out more information on a person's circumstances), than in the ISAs list itself.

innovate wrote: »

Thus good guidance is that people save up their ISA deposit in one or more of these current accounts, and then deposit a lumpsum into their ISA just before the end of the tax year.

You're making a generalisation here, but again people have different circumstances that should be factored in before considering this. Depending on their individual circumstances, some people (who do not have a lump sum to deposit at the start of the tax year), may also be better off opening a regular savings ISA or opening an easy access ISA. Please keep in mind that we are still only in early March, there is still plenty of time for new ISAs to be launched.

If someone is considering their options for the new tax year, then it is best not to make any decisions now, but wait until all the products are on the table and then you can decide what is best for you.

Furthermore, the person's tax situation has to be taken into account. The government have been lowering the higher rate tax threshold. Getting as much interest into an ISA and shielded from tax is becoming more important than ever, especially for people near the higher rate tax threshold.

In a lot of circumstances, I think that where possible, it is better to deposit funds into an ISA at the start of the tax year rather than at the end. That way, you get the interest paid into the tax free wrapper and if you are saving into ISAs long term, you get the full benefit of compound tax-free interest over the years.

What I did is deposit the full ISA allowance into my ISA at the start of this tax year (6th April 2012). I opened a regular saver in February 2012, I will use the capital from it to fund my ISA for 2013/14 (on 6th April 2013). Although, I do this, adding this sort of information to the ISAs list on the first page, is going beyond what it is about. This is something that is more suitable within the savings articles on the MSE website and for discussion in this thread, than in the ISAs list itself.

innovate wrote: »

It is very simple to understand but of course it isn't compulsory to follow the guidance. I would think most ISA savers will understand the principle. Many have been using Regular Savers, specifically the FD one, to save up for ISA deposits. Now we have at least one current account (FlexDirect) which beats everything else in the market, and quite possibly several others, too.

We can't assume what someone will or will not understand. All we can do is keep the information we post as simple as possible. I think this is one of the reasons this thread has been so popular over the years. I really don't want to confuse people, I would like to keep the items on the list relevant to the subject area. Editing the ISAs list does take up quite a bit of my time and I want to focus the time I have on MSE, on making sure the ISAs and rates are up-to-date.

innovate

OK, I give up since I obviously failed to get the simplest message across - - - i.e. put your cash ISA money into the best interest paying account, and if that is not an ISA (which it isn't these days), only put it into the actual ISA at the last minute.

Very pleased to see though that quite a few people have cordonned on to the concept already.

Kazza242

innovate wrote: »

OK, I give up since I obviously failed to get the simplest message across - - - i.e. put your cash ISA money into the best interest paying account, and if that is not an ISA (which it isn't these days), only put it into the actual ISA at the last minute.

Very pleased to see though that quite a few people have cordonned on to the concept already.

Your post comes across as rather condescending bordering on rude imo. Perhaps, that wasn't your intention, but that is how it comes across.

Again, you are making a statement but you are not taking into account an individual's circumstances. Yes, in some circumstances what you have written may be the best option for some, but in other circumstances it may not be. There are other factors that should be considered, which is what I was explaining in my post above.

I am not saying that you are wrong, but that what you are suggesting may not be the best thing to do in all circumstances.

purplestar133

Kazza242 wrote: »

Editing the ISAs list does take up quite a bit of my time and I want to focus the time I have on MSE, on making sure the ISAs and rates are up-to-date.

Kazza, I've been following this thread for years and have often wondered whether you work in the industy or are just very good at keeping on top of new accounts that come out? You don't have to answer if you don't want to (obviously).

You just seem to have such complete knowledge!

Kazza242

purplestar133 wrote: »

Kazza, I've been following this thread for years and have often wondered whether you work in the industy or are just very good at keeping on top of new accounts that come out? You don't have to answer if you don't want to (obviously).

You just seem to have such complete knowledge!

Thanks purplestar133. I don't work in the banking industry, but it is an interest of mine. This thread came about because I do like to keep an eye on the best new accounts that come out.

I used to have them listed in a MS Word file (that I kept up-to-date) on my PC at home and then one day I thought it would be a good idea to share it with everyone on MSE by making this thread. I was only going to edit the ISAs list for a month during mid-March and April 2007, but it got so popular so quickly that I kept doing it until the present day.

I have to thank all of the posters on this thread that have helped keep the thread going over the years. Before this thread became a sticky on the ISAs board, some of you were bumping it to keep it on the first page of the board (many thanks!). :T

louiseadav

Hi Kazza, apologies if this subject has been discussed before.... are any better rates likely to be available before 06 Apr, or do most suppliers only issue the really juicy new offers after that? I'm pondering whether to put my allowance in now (having prevaricated due to poor interest rates for months) and maybe transfer to a better rate after 06 Apr, or whether there are likely to be any better offers coming up? Many thanks for any advice:)

Kazza242

louiseadav wrote: »

Hi Kazza, apologies if this subject has been discussed before.... are any better rates likely to be available before 06 Apr

Hi louiseadav. Possibly, it is hard to tell because we are still only in early March.

louiseadav wrote: »

...or do most suppliers only issue the really juicy new offers after that?

Some suppliers tend to launch the better new ISAs towards the end of the tax year, to entice the savers who have yet to use up their ISA allowance and have only weeks to do so before they lose it. The rates of interest available on ISAs towards the end of March/early April tend to be higher than at other times of the year. There is then usually another set of ISAs that are launched for the new tax year only. They have tended to offer rates as high as those offered weeks before (and sometimes higher).

This year may be different (though no one knows for sure yet) because of the government's Funding for Lending Scheme, which has given providers access to cheap state-backed funding for the purpose of lending. As a result, providers have not needed to rely upon attracting savers' cash, which has contributed to the low interest rates on savings accounts and ISAs etc.

louiseadav wrote: »

I'm pondering whether to put my allowance in now (having prevaricated due to poor interest rates for months) and maybe transfer to a better rate after 06 Apr, or whether there are likely to be any better offers coming up? Many thanks for any advice:)

As you haven't yet used up your allowance for 2012/13, then it may be better to wait a few more weeks to see what will be available then. We still haven't got any information on what the big players are going to be offering in the coming weeks.

Some of the best rates (on offer towards the end of the tax year) do not accept transfers in, so you can benefit by depositing your unused allowance. Some of them will also allow you to deposit next year's allowance (from 6th April) into the same ISA too.

I wouldn't leave it too late though as you don't want to miss out on using up your 2012/13 allowance.