Help to buy isa and junior isa

PowderC

My daughter who is 17 has a junior isa with the Halifax but has not added any funds this year. She tried to fund a help to buy isa through the Halifax but it wouldn't let her add funds as wanted to put it in the junior isa. Can she open a help to buy isa when she has a junior isa even though not funded this year?
She will be 18 at the end of April and so the junior isa will be changed to adult. Does she need to wait until then?
Thanks

xylophone

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/who-is-eligible/

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA
"Can 16 and 17 year olds have a Help to Buy Isa and a Junior ISA at the same time?

We checked this with HMRC and it told us that just as you can have a 'normal' cash ISA and a junior ISA at the same time if you're aged 16 or 17, the same applies with a Help to Buy ISA.

However, you must open the Help to Buy ISA yourself - a parent can't do it for you."

However, your daughter should be aware that once she has contributed to a Halifax HTB, contributions cannot be made to another cash ISA (except the JISA) in the same tax year.

IainJo

I wonder if anyone else has run into this issue. My 16 year old daughter has had a Junior ISA with Halifax for the past few years and has already contributed into it for this new tax year. She has opened a Santander Help to Buy ISA over the phone, but the advisor was adamant she could not contribute into it this tax year because she had already paid into an ISA (her junior ISA) this year.


The advisor did not understand that 16 & 17 years old are allowed to have a Junior ISA AND a Help To Buy ISA (or a normal Cash ISA) - as the MSE pages make clear. I even raised it with Santander through a secure message (as our current account is with them) and included the links to the MSE pages, but a message came back "you are only able to fund one of these ISAs in one individual tax year, please do not fund more than one of these ISAs in this tax year." (Did they even bother to refer to the link I sent them??)


So this is like banging your head against the wall. If they supposedly refer it to someone in the know higher up in Santander and they still say no, what can you do ? Give up and open a Help To Buy ISA with Halifax instead, I guess.


Has anyone else had this issue and managed to get around it, or have any other advice, e.g. the Satander HTB is open, so can my daughter just pay into it anyhow and Santander can remain oblivious to the fact she has legitimately paid into a Junior ISA as well this year ? Will we hit the same issue with a Halifax HTB ISA, i.e. that they think it's not allowed too ? Thanks for any replies.

realaledrinker

Santander's advice is patently wrong as you have said yourself. My daughter has a JISA and a newly opened HTB ISA, both with the Halifax, the latter opened on line with no problem whatsoever.

Halemum

I am having the same problem.
Daughter 16 and has not yet paid into her JISA this year. We want to do this and for her to open a Help to Buy ISA this year.
Santander have said I can only do one or the other not both. I referred them to MSE website to no avail.
Have checked the HMRC website and on their JISA page, I quote
"Children aged 16 and 17 can open their own Junior ISA as well as an adult cash ISA"
I have phone HMRC to absolutely make sure and they are saying that my daughter can hold a JISA and an adult Cash ISA (or Help to Buy) but not pay into both. So they are agreeing with Santander.
I have tried explaining to them that the wording on their website does not actually say that but they are insistent. You cannot pay into both.
Utterly frustrated
Any chance we can get MSE guys onto this?

xylophone

I have phone HMRC to absolutely make sure and they are saying that my daughter can hold a JISA and an adult Cash ISA (or Help to Buy) but not pay into both.

By way of example see http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/products/savings/terms-and-conditions/P2780.pdf

"A child can only hold one Junior cash ISA at any one time. From the age of 16 until age 18 the child can also hold a cash ISA and make payments into both Junior ISA and ISA accounts up to the relevant annual allowances set by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)."

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/512781/ISA_guidance_notes_April_2016.pdf on page 244.


"When a child reaches age 16 they can apply for an ‘adult’ cash ISA which they can subscribe to in addition to any subscriptions made to their JISA(s). Holding both a cash JISA and an ‘adult’ cash ISA does not breach the JISA rule that the child can only have one JISA account of each type, and the subscription limits for all ‘adult’ ISA products apply independently of whether or not a child holds, or has held, a JISA
in the relevant year..

Therefore, in the tax year in which the child turns 16 they can subscribe up to the JISA limit, and from their 16 birthday they can, in addition, subscribe up to 50% of the overall ‘adult’ ISA limit to a cash ISA. In the tax year in which the child turns 17 they can subscribe up to the JISA limit, and subscribe up to the overall ISA limit to a cash ISA."


The HTB ISA is a cash ISA. See https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/512781/ISA_guidance_notes_April_2016.pdf

"A Help to Buy ISA is merely a cash ISA and has no identity or special requirements within the ISA rules."
(page 74)


Therefore it would appear from the HMRC Guidance to ISA managers that contributions can be made to both the JISA and the HTB ISA?