Help to Buy ISA guide

istanbul05

Hi guys, just wondering if anyone could help me with a query..

I already hold a HSBC Advance Loyalty ISA, and I applied for the Help to Buy ISA from Halifax this morning. And then proceeded to transfer the £1000 deposit into the help to buy isa.

However I have just realised I opened my HSBC loyalty ISA back in April 2015, so this would count as the same tax year as today when I opened my Halifax help to buy ISA!

I don't think this is allowed so could anyone recommend what I should now do?

Many thanks

colsten

If by "opened HSBC ISA in April 2015" you mean that you have made deposits into the HSBC ISA since April 6 2015, you need to close the HSBC ISA asap. Failure to do so could invalidate your HTB ISA when HMRC find out about it which they will, sometime after April 2017.

If you have not made such deposits, it doesn't matter. Going forward, you must not pay into more than one cash ISA in the same tax year.

istanbul05

colsten wrote: »

If by "opened HSBC ISA in April 2015" you mean that you have made deposits into the HSBC ISA since April 6 2015, you need to close the HSBC ISA asap. Failure to do so could invalidate your HTB ISA when HMRC find out about it which they will, sometime after April 2017.

If you have not made such deposits, it doesn't matter. Going forward, you must not pay into more than one cash ISA in the same tax year.

Yes I have made various deposits throughout the year..

Would it be better to immediately close the Halifax HTB? And then reopen one in April? I am just concerned HMRC may still invalidate my HTB isa are it is still the 2nd I have opened in this tax year!

colsten

You can do this as well if you feel better doing it that way. Although you'll be perfectly ok if you close the HSBC ISA.

I already have a cash ISA – can I open a Help to Buy: ISA too?

You can put money into a cash ISA and Help to Buy: ISA in the same tax year, but you will have to take additional steps.

If you paid into a cash ISA after 5 April 2015, to open a Help to Buy: ISA this tax year (ie before 6 April 2016), you will have to transfer your active cash ISA to a Help to Buy: ISA.

You can transfer up to £1,200 of your active cash ISA balance into your Help to Buy: ISA. Anything more than this should be moved into either a stocks and shares ISA or a non-ISA account.

Alternatively, portfolio ISAs allow you to hold multiple ISA products within a cash ISA wrapper. You can still only have one active cash ISA but it can be made up of one or more standard cash ISA products, including a Help to Buy: ISA. With a portfolio ISA, you can save into a cash ISA and a Help to Buy: ISA at the same time. The standard cash ISA and Help to Buy: ISA allowance limits will still apply.

- See more at: https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/#sthash.iPpULKtp.dpuf

You can ignore the "transfer" bit in the above as you are allowed 1 self transfer per year. That's described somewhere in chapter 12 of
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/459781/isa-guidance-notes.pdf

shiggins92

Just a quick question,

My girlfriend and I have opened up an account each.

Im just double checking about the bonus, is it repayable?

Do we have to pay it back at all or is it 'free money'?

colsten

Official FAQ: https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/how-does-it-work/

MARTYM8`

shiggins92 wrote: »

Just a quick question,

My girlfriend and I have opened up an account each.

Im just double checking about the bonus, is it repayable?

Do we have to pay it back at all or is it 'free money'?

It is not repayable no - as long as course as you were eligible when you applied.

BLevi

Hi, the article says that the saving can be used for any property costing under £250,000.
Can someone confirm please, if this price limit is the same or higher, if a couple wants to buy a property, both paying into their HTB ISA, and it would be the first home for both of them?

lazyshot53

I previously owned a house with my wife. The mortgage was in joint names and we jointly owned the property. Unfortunately we were divorced a couple of years ago, and shock horror, I ended up pretty much penniless. Is there any scope for me getting some love from this scheme? I'm currently saving hard in a bid to be a home owner once again.

eskbanker

lazyshot53 wrote: »

I previously owned a house with my wife. The mortgage was in joint names and we jointly owned the property. Unfortunately we were divorced a couple of years ago, and shock horror, I ended up pretty much penniless. Is there any scope for me getting some love from this scheme? I'm currently saving hard in a bid to be a home owner once again.

Don't know about getting love from it but you won't get a bonus from it, or even eligibility to open one in the first place - it's clearly stated as a scheme for first time buyers rather than those starting again, regardless of circumstances I'm afraid.