Help to Buy ISA guide

eskbanker

mxvqda wrote: »

Can a HTB ISA be transferred to a cash ISA the following year?

Possibly but why would you want to? The key advantage of an HTB ISA over a normal cash ISA is the 25% government bonus payable on the accumulated HTB pot, why would you forego (at least some of) that?

mxvqda wrote: »

If you open a split isa (HTB and easy access ISA with the same provider) this year, can you transfer the HTB and easy access ISA separately to different providers the following year?

Yes, there aren't any limitations on transfers of previous years' subscriptions, provided of course that the new products accept transfers in.

[Deleted User]

I'm trying to hedge my bets! I'm very likely to buy a property in the future. But if for any reason that doesn't happen I would like to be able to transfer the balance in the HTB ISA to another ISA (cash or maybe S&S), ideally without losing its tax free status. I wanted to know whether the HTB and easy access ISAs could be transferred separately from each other next year as again I might transfer the easy access to a S&S ISA.

luckylouise08

Hello, I just wanted some help as i am trying to make sense of the article on ISAs but just wanted to clarify what i should do so i don't make any mistakes.

I have money in:

1) A monthly savings account 5% fixed rate. Max can pay is £250pm into this which i have been doing (opened 6th May 2016)
2) A Cash ISA 0.85% variable rate (opened 3rd November 2014). The rate was better but it has gone down.

I just wondered what the situation with opening a Help To Buy ISA would be as I have more money in my Cash ISA than i would be able to put into either my monthly savings account or a Help To Buy ISA and i am not sure what the rules are on whether i could keep my Cash ISA open and have the Help To Buy ISA running, whether i would need to transfer my Cash ISA over (partly to the Help To Buy ISA and partly somewhere else) or whether i would not be able to apply for a Help To Buy ISA as i have put money into my Cash ISA this tax year. Please help!

El_Selb

Similar to an earlier poster (who transferred to Barclays), I'd like to transfer my H2B ISA to Nationwide now that Halifax have dropped their rate from 4 to 0.5%.


I went into a Nationwide branch, however, and they said I have to start again with the initial max £1200 deposit though, and I can't transfer my whole balance.


This seems wrong though as it would mean providers can lock savers in with an initial headline rate that they then cut?

eskbanker

El_Selb wrote: »

Similar to an earlier poster (who transferred to Barclays), I'd like to transfer my H2B ISA to Nationwide now that Halifax have dropped their rate from 4 to 0.5%.

I went into a Nationwide branch, however, and they said I have to start again with the initial max £1200 deposit though, and I can't transfer my whole balance.

This seems wrong though as it would mean providers can lock savers in with an initial headline rate that they then cut?

Yes, they're wrong, tell them to read their own website (http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/savings/help-to-buy-isa/features-and-benefits) :

You can open this account:
By transferring from an existing Help to Buy: ISA held with another ISA provider. Please note the whole balance must be transferred and that account closed. You can do this in branch or you can request an ISA transfer pack by post.

NeedToPayTax

El_Selb wrote: »

Similar to an earlier poster (who transferred to Barclays), I'd like to transfer my H2B ISA to Nationwide now that Halifax have dropped their rate from 4 to 0.5%.


I went into a Nationwide branch, however, and they said I have to start again with the initial max £1200 deposit though, and I can't transfer my whole balance.


This seems wrong though as it would mean providers can lock savers in with an initial headline rate that they then cut?

weird i'm still getting 3.5% with Halifax (was 4%) I've had it over 12 months now because I just received my first years interest (was slightly under £100)

I'll have to check mine doesnt go down, 3.5% still the best out there so no need for me to switch

snwjoe8

Hi,

I pay £200 into my help to buy ISA on the 1st of every month. This month, my ISA also automatically paid in circa £95 interest which means a total of £295 has gone into my ISA this month.

Does anyone know what happens if you pay more than the allowable £200 into one of these accounts? I'm not really sure what to do about it. Will I still get the ISA interest rate on the over input but not the government 25%?

Ed-1

snwjoe8 wrote: »

Hi,

I pay £200 into my help to buy ISA on the 1st of every month. This month, my ISA also automatically paid in circa £95 interest which means a total of £295 has gone into my ISA this month.

Does anyone know what happens if you pay more than the allowable £200 into one of these accounts? I'm not really sure what to do about it. Will I still get the ISA interest rate on the over input but not the government 25%?

You haven't paid in more than £200. Interest is not a subscription. What if interest had been more than £200?

maverick27

I have £2800 saved in a help to buy isa. I'm about to purchase a property thats outside London for £295000. Having discovered that I won't be eligible for the government bonus, is there another way to get this e.g. through a lifetime isa when it comes out?

eskbanker

maverick27 wrote: »

I have £2800 saved in a help to buy isa. I'm about to purchase a property thats outside London for £295000. Having discovered that I won't be eligible for the government bonus, is there another way to get this e.g. through a lifetime isa when it comes out?

Only if you can wait until April 2018, which seems unlikely if you're about to purchase - see point 3 at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-ISAs