Have I made a BIG mistake?

notbritishgas

After April 5th this year I opened a SAGA 1 year fixed rate ISA and duly deposited my £5640.

However in September of this year I have 2 Nationwide ISA's maturing. Can I open a new Nationwide ISA ready to put the maturing funds into?
I suspect not, so will I be allowed to take up one of the Nationwide maturity options they offer or are they considered to be new accounts.

If all of the above fail I think I can open another ISA with SAGA and arrange for the maturing funds to be transferred into it, am I correct? But I do not favour this option.

I am thinking my options are limited if not none existent so any advice would be very welcome.

Norman_Castle

You can increase your isa savings annually by £5640. Any money already in an isa can be transfered by the bank into another isa from any provider.

psychic_teabag

Yes, you can open as many ISAs as you like, with as many providers as you like, any time you want. The limits apply only to subscriptions (new money) into an ISA. Opening an ISA only to receive a transfer of an existing ISA is fine.

The maturity offers may well be new accounts, or they may be change in terms on the existing accounts, but that really doesn't make any practical difference to you. (Well, one practical difference - I think I heard somewhere that you need to sign the ISA declaration again if it's a new account, but not if an existing account rolls over.)

thenudeone

Transfers of ISA funds arranged directly between providers does not count towards the annual limit.

Don't just withdraw the money yourself and then deposit it; that money DOES count towards your allowance.

notbritishgas

psychic_teabag wrote: »

Yes, you can open as many ISAs as you like, with as many providers as you like, any time you want. The limits apply only to subscriptions (new money) into an ISA. Opening an ISA only to receive a transfer of an existing ISA is fine.

The maturity offers may well be new accounts, or they may be change in terms on the existing accounts, but that really doesn't make any practical difference to you. (Well, one practical difference - I think I heard somewhere that you need to sign the ISA declaration again if it's a new account, but not if an existing account rolls over.)

Thanks psychic that helps a lot.
I was under the wrong impression that you could only open ISAs with one provider per year.

psychic_teabag

No, the rule applies to subscriptions. You are also opening ISAs when you transfer, and there is no restriction on transfers.

thenudeone

Also - some providers allow you to open an ISA account without funding it straight away. This may be useful if you already have an ISA in the current year but a great ISA offer comes up - you can open it now but wait until 6th April before putting new money in.

psychic_teabag

A possible tactic might be to keep a small amount of "old" money in an instant-access ISA. Then if such an offer comes along, (and it allows transfers in), could fund it using a partial transfer from there.