Urgent ISA help please !

sooziwong

Can anyone help, please !!!!!
I have completed an application for my Abbey mini cash isa and have seen that my account is now operational online. However , I opened this account with a cheque for £3000 and whiist this is showing in the account, it is not available until clearance on 7th April. Have I got my 3k in before this years deadline ...or not? I was daft, my current account is with Abbey, and it could have been tranferred from there, but the application requested a cheque. Does anyone know, if I am in for this years allowance ?? That was the whole point !

Kazza242

Don't worry it should be ok. This happened to one of my family members last year. The cheque he deposited didn't clear until the 6th, but it counted towards the previous year's isa allowance. He was then able to deposit a further £3,000 throughout the year.

As you can see your initial deposit (albeit uncleared) in your account it should be alright. It looks like you got in just in time.

sooziwong

Many thanks for your reply. That sounds promising then. I must try to get things done in future before waiting until the last minute !!

Paul_Varjak

sooziwong wrote:

Many thanks for your reply. That sounds promising then. I must try to get things done in future before waiting until the last minute !!

Yes, you have lost almost a year's worth of tax-free savings and paid extra tax of about £30 as a result! I will be adding to my ISA on April 6th - tried to set up standing order to do it but Halifax does not allow, currently, standing orders to other accounts you have with them! So, I have programmed by mobile phone to set off an alarm instead!

lipidicman

True, it is best to bung the money in there on day one (and I do) - BUT if you dont have the money at the beginning of the tax year then getting it in there before the deadline is better than missing it!

isasmurf

lipidicman wrote:

True, it is best to bung the money in there on day one (and I do)

Not necessarily. I never bung into an ISA until I am sure that I am not going to need it during the year. I'd rather lose a bit of tax during the year, then several years worth over the next few years.

sooziwong

Thanks everyone for the replies. I did get my ISA opened before the 5th april deadline. Abbey told me that as long as the account is opened before this date, the date the cheque clears does not matter.

Sooziwong

Paul_Varjak

Glad to hear you got it open in time. Now, have you put your 2005-2006 allowance in as well?

lipidicman

isasmurf wrote:

Not necessarily. I never bung into an ISA until I am sure that I am not going to need it during the year. I'd rather lose a bit of tax during the year, then several years worth over the next few years.

Quite right, I should have said it is best if you can afford to

I fund mine from a regular saver that empties in april - and it is sacred - I would never spend it!