New ISA limits for 2008

Wings_of_Ambition

Wow.... a budget that actually does some good!

Gordon Brown has announced that the cash ISA limit will increase from £3000 to £3600 in 2008. The limit for stocks and shares ISA's will increase to £7200.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6475891.stm

gzed

I've just read it as well. I think that's good news, at least for me.

I put £3000 in S&S on top of my max cash ISA allowance so that won't be a problem as total will be £6600<£7200.

jimbow25

Bear in mind this is only for the 08/09 tax year onwards, gzed, what happens between now and 5th April, and the whole of the following year, is still under the old rules. it's not clear if you're talking about now or the future from your post so apologies if I've misunderstood.

lixi

Ooh that's good to know. I only scanned the bit on the beeb about ISAs being maintained as a savings vehicle until at least 2010.

Thanks

competitionscafe

£200 is a very small increase in percentage terms though - if it had gone up in line with inflation it would be quite a bit higher. Still, I read somewhere that only 15% of people who take out an ISA use the full £7k allowance anyway.

For people who use cash ISAs it is a good increase though.

mutley74

when can one convert a cash ISA into a stocks and shares ISA? (as in the last para of the BBC article)

thanks

Mortgage_&_debt_free

atpug wrote: »

when can one convert a cash ISA into a stocks and shares ISA? (as in the last para of the BBC article)

thanks

April 5th 2008

Primrose

i'm confused. Can somebody first please confirm that limits for the imminent tax year starting on April 5th remain unchanged and that the new limits start in April 2008.
Also, if you want to take maximum advantage of the taxfree wrapper each year what will then be the maximum limits you can split between Cash ISAs & Equity ISAs? Will it be £3600 cash and £4200 Equity.

dunstonh

the 2007/8 tax year remains unchanged. Its 2008/9 when the changes occur. Remember there will be no MINI/MAXI rules then either. You will have a personal allowance to contribute into an ISA with a maximum going into cash.

Ian_W

Primrose wrote: »

Will it be £3600 cash and £4200 Equity.

The overall maximum will be £7200 with the cash max being £3600 - ergo you use £3600 in cash, you'll have £3600 of your allowance left for S&Ss.
You could use £4200 for equity but then you'd be restricted to £3K cash by the overall £7.2K limit.

Primrose

dunstonh - So in 2008/9, what you seem to be confirming is that if I put £3600 of my personal allowance into a Cash ISA, and the maximum limit will be£7200, only the remaining allowance of £4200 can be put into equities? Thiss is such a stupid rule. Why does Gordon Brown not simplify the whole system and allow us to put our annual allowance wherever we wish? I hear the argument that the Treasury loses more money from the cash ISA option but how I long for a Chancellor who will simplify our tax system for everybody's sake!