Help to Buy ISA Interest Question

atreides7887

Hello All,

I apologise if this has been asked before but I couldn't find an easy answer anywhere. I opened a Help to Buy ISA last month, paid in the full £1,200 and now am preparing to deposit £200 in the second month.

However, what I don't understand (and I assume this applies to Cash ISAs in general as well) is if the interest which was added to the account (a whopping £2.15) counts towards this £200 deposit total (therefore I can only deposit £197.85) or if it somehow sits seperately. Not sure how that would work with the government bonus either.

Any chance someone could please explain this to me?

Kind Regards,
atreides7887

eskbanker

No, interest doesn't count towards deposit limits so you can keep paying in (up to) exactly £200 per month over and above any interest being credited....

atreides7887

Hi,

Great thanks for the info. So although this is some way off when it comes to calculating the 25% tax-free bouns when buying a house, is this calculated from the total balance (including interest) up to a total of £12,000 or just on the total of money deposited to the account?

Regards,
atreides7887

eskbanker

Worth reading https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/, which clarifies:

Will my interest on my savings count towards my government bonus?
Yes. Your government bonus will be calculated based on the amount of money you have in your account when you close it. This includes both the money you have saved, and any interest you have earned on that money. The maximum government bonus is £3,000.

atreides7887

Hi,

Thanks this has rapidly and easily solved all my quesitons. Not sure if I can mark this thread to be closed on anything but no further help is required.

Thanks again.

Regards,
atreides7887