Lifetime ISAs guide

P1Fanatic

I’m pretty sure LISA contributions do count towards the overall £20K ISA limit.

eskbanker

oli356 wrote: »

What I'm unsure of is the transferring from HTB to LISA. I can transfer £4k on year 1 which I believe would impact my LISA allowance but not the general (£20k) ISA allowance. However what do I do then do with the money in the HTB? Do I leave it and then am I able to transfer £4k out next year and the year after that? Whilst getting the HTB 2.5% AER in the mean time? Does it make sense to keep adding in £200 a month to the HTB as the rate at 2.5% is quite good?

Yes, it makes sense to leave your HTB open and to keep funding it in order to benefit from decent interest - this might ultimately mean that you may not empty it by the time you wish to buy but that doesn't matter as long as you're maxing the LISA at the same time.

P1Fanatic wrote: »

I’m pretty sure LISA contributions do count towards the overall £20K ISA limit.

oli356 is referring specifically to transfers, which don't count towards the annual £20K limit, unlike contributions.

oli356

eskbanker wrote: »

Yes, it makes sense to leave your HTB open and to keep funding it in order to benefit from decent interest - this might ultimately mean that you may not empty it by the time you wish to buy but that doesn't matter as long as you're maxing the LISA at the same time.

oli356 is referring specifically to transfers, which don't count towards the annual £20K limit, unlike contributions.

That is what I thought, thank you.
And yes, correct, I was referring to the transfer.

Now to just look for a good LISA ...

Iveta1109

Hello,

I am new to this so sorry I’m advance if my question has already been asked!

I have a current Lisa with skipton and have now saved £15000 to go towards my first house. I plan to wait until March when my yearly interest is paid and switch to moneybox lisa as they offer a better interest rate of 1.4% compared to skipton’s 1%.
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t transfer my savings to moneybox at all? Skipton have been nothing but helpful however the higher interest sounds good to me.

Thank you

Jibeddy

grumiofoundation wrote: »

Transferred Skipton -> Moneybox earlier this year. Transfer was fine no problems. Had already contributed and had bonus paid before transfer so can’t comment on that. Only (slight) wrinkle I seem to remember was having to set up a direct debit for (£10?) which I then had to later alter to £0.

Good to hear it and thanks for replying. If you make a deposit early in the new tax year please let me know how you get on!

eskbanker

Iveta1109 wrote: »

I have a current Lisa with skipton and have now saved £15000 to go towards my first house. I plan to wait until March when my yearly interest is paid and switch to moneybox lisa as they offer a better interest rate of 1.4% compared to skipton’s 1%.
Is there any reason why I shouldn’t transfer my savings to moneybox at all? Skipton have been nothing but helpful however the higher interest sounds good to me.

Some feel happier dealing with an institution that has a high street presence rather than an app-oriented one, but if you're simply chasing the best rates then Moneybox's 1.4% obviously exceeds Skipton's 1% by a reasonable margin.

There's no need to wait until the interest is paid though - if you transferred now, you'd still be paid pro rata interest up to the date of transfer, i.e. about three quarters of the annual rate, so if you're going to do this then don't delay because of a misunderstanding about how such things work....

ncorb

Hi,

Sorry if this has already been asked.

If we are looking at buying a new build help to buy property for £480,000 would we be bale to use the LISA.

I know that the LISA only qualify up to houses of £450,000 but if we use the help to buy scheme we would only be getting a mortgage of around £380k and so i just wondered how this works.

If the house costs more than £450,000 can your LISA contribute towards it at all?

masonic

ncorb wrote: »

If the house costs more than £450,000 can your LISA contribute towards it at all?

No, not without paying the withdrawal penalty or waiting until you are 60 to buy.

epicurus

I would appreciate any help with the following. I am considering building an eco home rather than buying a new or old house and want to find out whether my Lifetime ISA can be used in this circumstance. I have never owned a house previously.

Many thanks.

masonic

epicurus wrote: »

I would appreciate any help with the following. I am considering building an eco home rather than buying a new or old house and want to find out whether my Lifetime ISA can be used in this circumstance. I have never owned a house previously.

Many thanks.

Yes you can use a LISA to buy land for a self build property. You must meet all the other criteria of the scheme (completed value under £450k, purchase with a mortgage, live in home when complete, etc)