Help to Buy ISA guide

Karen_from_London

I think there is a mistake on this website with respect to H2B Isa and Junior Isas in the same tax year. The Help to Buy page on this website says that 16 and 17 year olds can have both in the same tax year just as you can have a regular cash Isa and a Junior Isa in the same year. However Halifax says this is NOT the case. Their online system will not allow you to open the H2B when you have a Jnr Isa and so I rang their Helpline and was told this was the reason why. I was adamant that HMRC rules were that this was allowed (as per Martin's note at number 3 in the 10 Help to Buy Need to Knows), but the supervisor came back to say that this was not so.
So be aware if you are trying to do this for your child...

colsten

I think there is a good chance that Halifax confuse their implementation with the rules. You should call HMRC to clarify.

JamesBees1989

I opened an isa in the last 12 months does this mean i can not start a help to buy isa yet or does the start of 2016 mean i can now open one?

Also if i transferred £200 to my girlfriend every month could she start one with that money as well or is that not allowed?

thanks

greensalad

Probably a silly question that I think I already know the answer to...

My partner and I are looking to start saving soon so this ISA seems like a fairly good option.

However there is a chance that we may buy over 250k so wouldn't be eligible. I'm guessing at that stage we'd just withdraw our savings to buy the house and not be able to apply for the extra chunk?

I'm debating whether this is better (considering the interest rates are pretty low) than our Santander 123 account with its 3% interest. I don't know what the tax is on that interest though, because it's joint and I'm a contractor and my partner is higher-rate tax payer.

Tobolinos

Hi MSE lovelies; I hope you all had a great Xmas and NY.

My query with the Help To Buy ISA is that my girlfriend has a 3-yr fixed-term mortgage already on our flat (solely in her name) but we're looking to re-mortgage jointly in July/August when the deal runs out and it revert back to a variable. As I've never had a mortgage before, can I save via the Help To Buy ISA and take advantage of the offer?

Thanks!

MARTYM8`

Archi_Bald wrote: »

You are wrong. You can open as many as you like but you are not allowed to pay any money into an HTB ISA and another cash ISA in any year except if you have both of them with one of the split ISA providers that MARTYM8 listed.

Usual question: why would you even want a normal cash ISA?

With Nationwide the terms suggest you can also use prior year transfers to fund your current year help to buy isa.

Assuming this holds you could open a help to buy isa with NW transferring in prior year NW Isa funds each month online via their website and open/have a current year isa with another provider using 2016-17 funds only.

That's potentially another way round the pickle some people have got themselves in - not withstanding whether a cash isa is the best home for your funds if you are a basic rate taxpayer.

MARTYM8`

Tobolinos wrote: »

Hi MSE lovelies; I hope you all had a great Xmas and NY.

My query with the Help To Buy ISA is that my girlfriend has a 3-yr fixed-term mortgage already on our flat (solely in her name) but we're looking to re-mortgage jointly in July/August when the deal runs out and it revert back to a variable. As I've never had a mortgage before, can I save via the Help To Buy ISA and take advantage of the offer?

Thanks!

Yes - but only if you take a share of the flat ownership as well and have your name on the mortgage.

Anyone who has never owned or part owned a property is eligible - but you must take out a mortgage. The Government for some reason doesn't want first time buyers buying solely in cash to benefit - cos the banks gain nothing from that!:D

Archi_Bald

MARTYM8` wrote: »

The Government for some reason doesn't want first time buyers buying solely in cash to benefit - cos the banks gain nothing from that!:D

It's not to help mortgage providers but because those who can afford to buy their first property outright with cash do not need a handout from the taxpayer.

Archi_Bald

MARTYM8` wrote: »

With Nationwide the terms suggest you can also use prior year transfers to fund your current year help to buy isa.

Assuming this holds you could open a help to buy isa with NW transferring in prior year NW Isa funds each month online via their website and open/have a current year isa with another provider using 2016-17 funds only.

You must not pay into a cash ISA and into an HTB ISA for the same tax year with two different providers (leaving complete ISA transfers aside as this would only confuse matters even further).

The only time way you can pay into both types of ISA in the same tax year is with a split ISA provider.

The whole complexity can easily be avoided by realising that no FTB would even want to hold a standard cash ISA.

Rich2808

Archi_Bald wrote: »

It's not to help mortgage providers but because those who can afford to buy their first property outright with cash do not need a handout from the taxpayer.

Don't you think the Tory parties two biggest sets of donors - property developers and bankers - expect some return for their investment,

If you seriously believe all these schemes to 'help' first time buyers exist primarily for the benefit of first time buyers you are a little naive. They exist to promote buying houses, selling new builds, pushing up house prices and getting people to take out bigger mortgages.

Why on earth should it matter whether you take out a mortgage or pay in cash if you are a first time buyer - the only difference is banks will make no profit on the latter!

You could equally argue that people spending £450k on their first home in London don't need taxpayer assistance as they presumably earn over £100k and may well have a £75k deposit - but they do qualify for the HTB isa bonus. Yet someone paying £30k for their first flat in cash in Burnley is not eligible even though they are poorer - their only crime being not being a 25 year cash machine for a bank.