Help to Buy ISA guide

masonic

gaelimansell wrote: »

I want to give my disabled son some money per month to help prepare him to cope more independently in the future and give a boost to his financial security. Does having a Help to Buy ISA affect my son's ability to claim benefits? He is on ESA and DLA and currently Housing Benefit. Would he be better off getting the Pension ISA? Thanks.

It wasn't mentioned before but the Lifetime ISA is no better for means tested benefits than the HTB ISA because the money is accessible, unlike actual pension accounts.

If the plan is for him to buy a home in the future, perhaps you could consider holding back some of the money and giving him some more help when he's ready to buy - that way he can stay below the savings threshold. A Lifetime ISA might be better for this purpose because he can put in £4,000 in one go (£8,000 either side of a tax year) and get the Government bonus within a couple of months (remember that the account needs to have been open for at least a year before it can be used for the house purchase).

gaelimansell

Thanks. He does not have any savings and has never had an income beyond benefits. He isn't about to buy a property but I hope it will be an option in the future. I thought the bonus was a good percentage return and a way of helping someone learn how to save.

masonic

gaelimansell wrote: »

Thanks. He does not have any savings and has never had an income beyond benefits. He isn't about to buy a property but I hope it will be an option in the future. I thought the bonus was a good percentage return and a way of helping someone learn how to save.

With a HTB ISA the money can be saved, but can be accessed and used for anything - the bonus is paid if and only if the money is used towards a house.

With a Lifetime ISA, the gets the bonus as it is contributed, but withdrawals are subject to a penalty, so this account might not be right for him if he might need the money for other things.

peterjmay

i got my money!! even after i completed - Happy Days!

Cookiecrumble

Can someone tell me if a HTB ISA is used to buy a property without a mortgage would the bonus be payable? Thanks

masonic

Cookiecrumble wrote: »

Can someone tell me if a HTB ISA is used to buy a property without a mortgage would the bonus be payable? Thanks

No it would not as per the scheme rules.

Elliotjhp

I'm sorry as I'm sure this has been covered, but I have just set up a Help to Buy ISA.

I have set up a Cash ISA in a previous tax year, so I have both.

With the new tax year starting next month, is there a way to pay into both ISA's?

E.g. Could I pay a sum into my Cash ISA, and then transfer £200.00 from my Cash ISA to my Help to buy ISA on a monthly basis starting 01.05.19?

Thanks in advance.

eskbanker

Elliotjhp wrote: »

I'm sorry as I'm sure this has been covered, but I have just set up a Help to Buy ISA.

I have set up a Cash ISA in a previous tax year, so I have both.

With the new tax year starting next month, is there a way to pay into both ISA's?

E.g. Could I pay a sum into my Cash ISA, and then transfer £200.00 from my Cash ISA to my Help to buy ISA on a monthly basis starting 01.05.19?

Thanks in advance.

In general, no, you can only pay into one ISA of each type in any given tax year, so, as a HTB ISA is a cash ISA, you can't pay into both....

....except if you have them both with a provider who offers the 'split ISA' facility, where they're effectively lumped together as if they were one ISA. Nationwide is probably the most prominent example of institutions who do this, others are listed at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/best-cash-isa/ under "Can I split between a fixed and easy-access ISA (or regular saver ISA)?".

However, also worth considering if a cash ISA is the best place for your non-HTB money, as better rates are readily achievable elsewhere, check out https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account/ and https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest/

Elliotjhp

Thank you ever so much for this really detailed and helpful reply, it's really appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

samymullane

Hiya,

I need a little help please.

Me and my partner are looking to open a Help To Buy ISA each to save for our first house. We are looking to save around £500 each every month, as we can only put up to £200 into the account each month we are going to have to save the rest in a separate account.

When we are looking to close the account and buy a property will we be able to include the money we have saved in our separate account?

I am new to this so any information would be helpful please.

Thank you!