Help to Buy ISA guide

hannn

Hi there, I have a query regarding my help to buy. I opened a help to buy back in November before they stopped accepting new applications, however never made an initial deposit. Am I still able to make an initial deposit of 1,200 as I have not made any previous deposits? Or can you only deposit 1,200 in the first calendar month of the account opening? Any help with this would be much appreciated, thanks!

masonic

hannn said:

Hi there, I have a query regarding my help to buy. I opened a help to buy back in November before they stopped accepting new applications, however never made an initial deposit. Am I still able to make an initial deposit of 1,200 as I have not made any previous deposits? Or can you only deposit 1,200 in the first calendar month of the account opening? Any help with this would be much appreciated, thanks!

You can only deposit the £1,200 in the first calendar month in which the account is open. Edit: see below for correction

eskbanker

masonic said:

hannn said:

Hi there, I have a query regarding my help to buy. I opened a help to buy back in November before they stopped accepting new applications, however never made an initial deposit. Am I still able to make an initial deposit of 1,200 as I have not made any previous deposits? Or can you only deposit 1,200 in the first calendar month of the account opening? Any help with this would be much appreciated, thanks!

You can only deposit the £1,200 in the first calendar month in which the account is open.

I beg to differ - £1,200 can be paid in in the first month in which a deposit is made, so an empty unused account (that hasn't been closed due to inactivity) can still accept a £1,200 initial payment, as per clause 6.1(A) of the scheme rules:

A Help to Buy: ISA Holder shall be entitled to pay in aggregate up to the Maximum First Month Amount into their Help to Buy: ISA in the first month in which they pay any amounts into their Help to Buy: ISA.

masonic

eskbanker said:

masonic said:

hannn said:

Hi there, I have a query regarding my help to buy. I opened a help to buy back in November before they stopped accepting new applications, however never made an initial deposit. Am I still able to make an initial deposit of 1,200 as I have not made any previous deposits? Or can you only deposit 1,200 in the first calendar month of the account opening? Any help with this would be much appreciated, thanks!

You can only deposit the £1,200 in the first calendar month in which the account is open.

I beg to differ - £1,200 can be paid in in the first month in which a deposit is made, so an empty unused account (that hasn't been closed due to inactivity) can still accept a £1,200 initial payment, as per clause 6.1(A) of the scheme rules:

A Help to Buy: ISA Holder shall be entitled to pay in aggregate up to the Maximum First Month Amount into their Help to Buy: ISA in the first month in which they pay any amounts into their Help to Buy: ISA.

Yes you are quite right. I was going by the FAQ on the website, which states:

Do I have to make the deposit at a certain time during the month?

Your monthly allowance is per calendar month. This means, for example, that if you open your account on 28 March, you will have until the end of 31 March to make any deposits up to the first month’s limit of £1,200. You can then deposit up to £200 any time between 1 April and 30 April and in all following months.

But I agree the scheme rules take precedence, and the FAQ was probably written without consideration to what happens when no deposit is made in the first calendar month the account is open.

harpz_3

Hi, I currently have a Help To Buy ISA and don't plan on using it until I've maxed it out. However, me and my friends are looking into becoming property owners. If we were to set up a limited company, each put x amount in as capital and then use the capital as a deposit on a buy to let mortgage, would this affect my eligibility for the Help to Buy scheme? Essentially the limited company would own the property and earn the income, I would just be a shareholder and possible director... 

masonic

harpz_3 said:

Hi, I currently have a Help To Buy ISA and don't plan on using it until I've maxed it out. However, me and my friends are looking into becoming property owners. If we were to set up a limited company, each put x amount in as capital and then use the capital as a deposit on a buy to let mortgage, would this affect my eligibility for the Help to Buy scheme? Essentially the limited company would own the property and earn the income, I would just be a shareholder and possible director... 

The scheme requires that you have not held a legal interest in land. A shareholder/director of a company that owns or invests in property can certainly remain eligible for the HTB ISA scheme, but you would need to ensure that your company is set up in such a way that you don't, as an individual, have the legal right to possess, occupy or directly benefit from the property owned by your company.

becket11

Hi,
I am having a major panic and need some advice and suggestions! I am in between exchanging and completing a house purchase. I closed my help to buy isa last week with around 7000 pounds in the account but the closing statement came through and said only 6 pounds was in the account! Apparently the branch transferred all of the money out into another account of mine before closing it... meaning the money that was transferred no longer qualifies me for the help to buy bonus! 

I don’t know what to do or where to go for help. The bank have said they’ll investigate but it could take 5 working days... which is when we complete (hell to buy closing statement required by the solicitor by then to be eligible for the bonus!) .
any help would be appreciated.
ive been saving for three years to get this bonus and now it seems like i won’t see it!

masonic

becket11 said:

Hi,
I am having a major panic and need some advice and suggestions! I am in between exchanging and completing a house purchase. I closed my help to buy isa last week with around 7000 pounds in the account but the closing statement came through and said only 6 pounds was in the account! Apparently the branch transferred all of the money out into another account of mine before closing it... meaning the money that was transferred no longer qualifies me for the help to buy bonus! 

I don’t know what to do or where to go for help. The bank have said they’ll investigate but it could take 5 working days... which is when we complete (hell to buy closing statement required by the solicitor by then to be eligible for the bonus!) .
any help would be appreciated.
ive been saving for three years to get this bonus and now it seems like i won’t see it!

It's unfortunate, but there isn't really anything you can do. If the bank has made an error in performing that transfer separately instead of as part of the closure process, then you can of course pursue their complaints process for compensation for the bonus money you have lost. There is an emergency process your solicitor can use to potentially get the bonus money paid out on time, but that depends on the bank acting quickly.
Will you have enough money to complete the purchase assuming the bonus money isn't received on time?

robsnffc8

I missed payments to my help to buy due to financial problems with being ill over the past 2 months but have still set up my help to buy ISA and put money in when I first set it up, I’m now trying to put money in to it but it says it can’t because I haven’t paid in last month? Any idea how or when I’ll be able to pay in next? 

sjnoble

My grandson opened an account with NatWest before the deadline and has taken requested paperwork into his local branch in order to complete the process. However, he has now been told that he is too late to complete the process even though he applied before the deadline. Can this be right?