Cash ISAs: The Best Currently Available List

sheslookinhot

Principality and Leeds both at 5%

andyhicks88

Can you open another new ISA even if you already have one for this tax year but just not pay into it until the new one?  Only I'm looking at the Shawbrook Fixed ISA which allows continued deposits and that might be a way to secure a decent rate ready for me to start paying in in April?

refluxer

andyhicks88 said:

Can you open another new ISA even if you already have one for this tax year but just not pay into it until the new one?  Only I'm looking at the Shawbrook Fixed ISA which allows continued deposits and that might be a way to secure a decent rate ready for me to start paying in in April?

The minimum opening balance for a Shawbrook fixed rate ISA is £1,000 and there is likely to be an initial funding window (usually anything up to 1 month) during which the account will need to receive either that amount as a cash deposit or a transfer-in request from another ISA*, otherwise it'll be closed. 

In practical terms, this means that you can't usually open a fixed rate ISA that you intend to fund with next year's allowance (and leave unfunded until then) more than a month (or whatever funding window the provider allows) before April 6th. 

*some ISA providers only allow transfer requests to be submitted at the time of account opening.

pecunianonolet

andyhicks88 said:

Can you open another new ISA even if you already have one for this tax year but just not pay into it until the new one?  Only I'm looking at the Shawbrook Fixed ISA which allows continued deposits and that might be a way to secure a decent rate ready for me to start paying in in April?

You can open a Virgin ISA, if you have a current account with them, and minimum opening balance is £0

Not the most attractive rate but who knows what rates will be like on 6th April. 

https://uk.virginmoney.com/savings/products/easy_access_cash_isa_exclusive_issue_2/

I opened it, go the letter by post confirming the account being open and the rate but it is sitting with £0 since without issue. 

The other option would be the Zopa ISA pot but it's not fully clear if the rate is secured or not if no funding is received and the account is actually fully open. Some chat about it a few pages back.

Remember, ISA rules change from 6th April so you are no longer limited to subscribe only to one ISA in any given tax year.

Zaul22

It generally doesn't seem to be possible. Even Zopa technically has a £1 minimum. Although you could probably risk it and hope HMRC don't care about a £1 'mistake'. 

pecunianonolet

Zaul22 said:

It generally doesn't seem to be possible. Even Zopa technically has a £1 minimum. Although you could probably risk it and hope HMRC don't care about a £1 'mistake'. 

https://www.zopa.com/help/article/does-the-smart-isa-have-a-minimum-deposit

"For Access ISA pots, there's no minimum deposit."

refluxer

@andyhicks88 wants to secure a fixed rate ISA at current rates but fund it with the next tax year's ISA allowance - opening an easy access ISA (with variable interest rate) doesn't help in this scenario.

AmityNeon

akh43 said:

Is there a calculator where I can check correct interest given on matured Barclays ISA where initial balance increased 2 further times within first month as I am not sure it is correct? I only know calculators for the whole year and its giving much more interest so want to double check first.

If it was a fixed rate, the interest should approximately be composed of:
(11/12) * Rate * Balance (after second increase)
+
(1/12) * Rate * Balance (after first increase)

akh43

AmityNeon said:

akh43 said:

Is there a calculator where I can check correct interest given on matured Barclays ISA where initial balance increased 2 further times within first month as I am not sure it is correct? I only know calculators for the whole year and its giving much more interest so want to double check first.

If it was a fixed rate, the interest should approximately be composed of:
(11/12) * Rate * Balance (after second increase)
+
(1/12) * Rate * Balance (after first increase)

Sorry I have no idea what that means

AmityNeon

akh43 said:

AmityNeon said:

akh43 said:

Is there a calculator where I can check correct interest given on matured Barclays ISA where initial balance increased 2 further times within first month as I am not sure it is correct? I only know calculators for the whole year and its giving much more interest so want to double check first.

If it was a fixed rate, the interest should approximately be composed of:
(11/12) * Rate * Balance (after second increase)
+
(1/12) * Rate * Balance (after first increase)

Sorry I have no idea what that means

Interest is calculated daily. Take the account balance each day, multiply it by the gross interest rate, and then divide the result by 365 to calculate the interest for each day. The total interest paid at maturity is the sum of the daily interest accrued over the term of the account.

If you'd like, someone here can calculate it if you provide the interest rate, the account start/maturity dates, and the dates of the three deposits and their corresponding amounts. For example:

• Interest rate: 4.60%
• Start date: 10 Jan 2023
• First deposit date/amount: 10 Jan 2023; £5,000
• Second deposit date/amount: 15 Jan 2023; £5,000 (balance £10,000)
• Third deposit date/amount: 25 Jan 2023; £5,000 (balance £15,000)
• Maturity date: 10 Jan 2024

In this example, there are:

• 5 days at £5,000 = £5,000 * (4.60% / 365) * 5 = £3.15
• 10 days at £10,000 = £10,000 * (4.60% / 365) * 10 = £12.60
• 350 days at £15,000 = £15,000 * (4.60% / 365) * 350 = £661.64
• Total interest after 365 days = £677.40 (after rounding)