Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

badger09

vigman wrote: »

Hi

I was interested in the BM 2 yr fixed ISA at 4.05% as in MSE's best cash ISAs but going to the website today (26/4) the rate is 3.6%.

http://www.bmsavings.co.uk/savings/isa-savings/764/2-year-fixed-rate-isa-yearly-interest.aspx

Has this changed recently?

TIA

Vigman

Yes, looks as though it dropped today

Pity we no longer have access to Moneyfacts Daily News Bulletin

Lungboy

I rang Santander again this afternoon, and whilst the man agreed that there is no deadline for paying new money into the ISA, he again said that as i've paid into Barclays i can't pay into the Santander ISA. Fed up, i called HMRC, and was rather annoyed to be told that the stance from Santander is correct! HMRC man told me that i'm subscribed to the Barclays ISA for this tax year, and that i won't be able to pay into the Santander ISA. I'm now utterly confused, and at a total loss as to what is best to do.

KTF

Pay your 2012/13 allowance into the Barclays ISA then transfer the whole lot over to Santander.

Lungboy

KTF wrote: »

Pay your 2012/13 allowance into the Barclays ISA then transfer the whole lot over to Santander.

If i had the cash to hand i would, but i intend to drip feed the money in all year until it's full.

Consumerist

Lungboy wrote: »

I rang Santander again this afternoon, and whilst the man agreed that there is no deadline for paying new money into the ISA, he again said that as i've paid into Barclays i can't pay into the Santander ISA. Fed up, i called HMRC, and was rather annoyed to be told that the stance from Santander is correct! HMRC man told me that i'm subscribed to the Barclays ISA for this tax year, and that i won't be able to pay into the Santander ISA. I'm now utterly confused, and at a total loss as to what is best to do.

Unfortunately, HMRC is about as clued up as a mole in a hole.

The fact is that the former "Barclays ISA" is now (or will be, once it's opened) the same ISA but managed by Santander. You will be paying in to the same ISA when you pay in to the transferred ISA.

I wish I could say that the HMRC guy may not have understood that you would be paying in to the same ISA which you paid into when it was managed by Barclays but I regret that it is likely he doesn't know what he is talking about either.

What to do now? I suggest you transfer as originally intended and once the ISA is opened at Santander, pay in a token sum. Even if the staff at Santander don't know their base from their apex, it is likely the system will.

Edit
What HMRC seems to have said is that you cannot transfer an existing ISA if you later want to add to it. That's poppycock - I know it and I'm sure you know it by now too.

Lungboy

Consumerist wrote: »

Unfortunately, HMRC is about as clued up as a mole in a hole.

The fact is that the former "Barclays ISA" is now the same ISA but managed by Santander. You will be paying in to the same ISA when you pay in to the transferred ISA.

I wish I could say that the HMRC guy may not have understood that you would be paying in to the same ISA which you paid into when it was managed by Barclays but I regret that it is likely he doesn't know what he is talking about either.

What to do now? I suggest you transfer as originally intended and once the ISA is opened at Santander pay in a token sum. Even if the staff at Santander don't know their base from their apex, it is likely the system will.

Edit
What HMRC seems to have said is that you cannot transfer an existing ISA. That's poppycock - I know it and I'm sure you know it by now too.

He was fine with me transferring it, just that once transferred it can't have any new money added.

I think your suggestion is the best idea. I'll be earning the maximum interest on my current savings, and if the system knows the rules better than the people running it, i'll be able to pay in as i want. If i can't pay in as i want, then i have another savings account for my wedding fund that i can put it in and earn a reasonable rate on too, better than just leaving it all at Barclays i think.

Consumerist

Lungboy wrote: »

He was fine with me transferring it, just that once transferred it can't have any new money added.

So the guy at HMRC is suggesting you can't add to your current-year ISA if it has been transferred. Still nonsense.

Consumerist

I have just consulted my own records and I can confirm that last year I transferred an ISA from Santander to Halifax and then paid in to Halifax the remainder of my allowance for that year (i.e. after the transfer). No problems.

Consumerist

badger09 wrote: »

I hope you are paraphrasing the words in bold here, as it is not correct . . .You can open more than one Cash ISA each tax year. But you can only put new money into one each tax year.

Just for clarification, HMRC does not consider a new ISA as open until it has been subscribed to.

It might be better to refer to opening an ISA account (which you can do as many times as you like) as opposed to opening an ISA (which you can do only once in any tax year by subscribing to an ISA account). Just a suggestion.

cloudchaser

Hi all

ISA newbie alert - I have finally got around to try and get my head around ISA and had a few basic questions.

I have never had an ISA so a fresh starter.

Am I right in thinking that any amount I put in a Cash ISA (say £10,000) will be eligible to receive the tax free interest?

And that £5640 is the maximum amount I can add to the Cash ISA in the current tax year?

What amount will I be getting the tax free interest on? Just the topped up £5640 or the entire amount of £15640?

Thanks for all help in advance.