Advice - Im new to ISAs

Robanson248

Hi,

I'm new to ISAs and after some advice. Between my partner and I, we have £60k to invest in ISAs (£30k before end of Tax Year, and another £30k from Apr 6). Can we open up an ISA each then top up that same ISA early in new Tax Year so that each ISA then holds £30k? Or is each year a separate and new ISA? Or are there any suggestions for a better way of investing?

CLAPTON

Robanson248 wrote: »

Hi,

I'm new to ISAs and after some advice. Between my partner and I, we have £60k to invest in ISAs (£30k before end of Tax Year, and another £30k from Apr 6). Can we open up an ISA each then top up that same ISA early in new Tax Year so that each ISA then holds £30k? Or is each year a separate and new ISA? Or are there any suggestions for a better way of investing?

the ISA rules allow you to put 15k of new money in the ISA each tax year and so you could have 30k in one product after april 6th

whether you can top up a particular product depends upon the product e.g. it you open a 2-3 year fixed rate ISA this year then they probably won't allow you to top up next year

but most allow you to add another 15k each tax year.


do bear in mind however, if you are talking about cash ISAs, then their interest rates aren't particularly good and have a tendency to fall after a while; so keep a close eye on them
e.g Santander 123 current account will pay 3% up to 20k which even after tax will beat most cash ISAs (conditions apply)

Robanson248

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated and very clear. We are already maxed out on Santander 123 accounts, hence the reason for looking into investing in ISAs.

Archi_Bald

Are you also maxed on the other interest-paying accounts?

Robanson248

No, but managing 4 current accounts just to get some reasonable interest from the banks is a pain; therefore, reluctant to open up more e.g. Lloyds/TSB 4-5% accounts

Archi_Bald

I have been managing these, and more, for quite some time. After the initial set up, everything is automated and works like clockwork - all I choose to do manually is skim off the monthly interest although I could automate this too. The multiple times of interest is worth the small amount of extra work to me.

I do also max my ISA allowance each year but in S&S ISAs.

jimjames

Robanson248 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated and very clear. We are already maxed out on Santander 123 accounts, hence the reason for looking into investing in ISAs.

If you are investing in ISAs then you can each put all the money into a single account. S&S ISAs don't tend to distinguish between tax years so treat it all as one pot.

There are few threads suggesting best platforms but you need to decide what you want to invest in first.

Robanson248

Thanks Archibald and JimJames. I am slightly risk averse where money is concerned due to losing out a fair bit on S&S previously. Any threads you recommend for best S&S ISAs, or any personal recommendations I could look at would be very much appreciated.

kidmugsy

Do you have a grandparent handy who might fancy bunging £10k into codger bonds? 4% p.a. guaranteed for 3 years. On the other hand, once you hand the money over it's his and there's no guarantee you'll get it back again.

SweetPaprika

Just make sure you keep it updated for the best rates - I fell into that trap!

Aged

jimjames wrote: »

S&S ISAs don't tend to distinguish between tax years so treat it all as one pot

Could you expand on this please jj as I'm not sure what you're getting at?