Top Cash ISAs Discussion Area

muffin_man

rb10 wrote: »

Note though that it's 60 days' notice and loss of 60 days' interest. So if you close early, you still lose two months interest.

If you think you might need to close it early, you might be better off either going for a normal instant access one, or, even better, one with a fixed rate that allows penalty-free withdrawals.

Good luck finding a decent rate on one of them. I shouldn't need access to it so a fixed rate is much better considering the way interest rates are heading...but if I do need it, or should rates suddenly shoot up, I'd rather lose 2 months interest than 6 months

johnhyp

leaphaze wrote: »

You need to treat this as an ISA transfer is it was previously invested in an ISA account. If you treat it as a new ISA investment then you'll be using up your ISA allowance for a second time but with the same money.

Could you clarify whether barclays will accept the application. I'm in the same position. with a certificate from icesave but the funds are now in an ING savings account.

Many thanks
John

Baldur

johnhyp wrote: »

Could you clarify whether barclays will accept the application. I'm in the same position. with a certificate from icesave but the funds are now in an ING savings account.

Just ask Barclays - the FSCS/Icesave certificate should be accepted, as per FSCS advice for re-investing Icesave ISA funds before 5/04/09. The present location of the funds is irrelevant.

rb10

muffin_man wrote: »

Good luck finding a decent rate on one of them. I shouldn't need access to it so a fixed rate is much better considering the way interest rates are heading...but if I do need it, or should rates suddenly shoot up, I'd rather lose 2 months interest than 6 months

http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/isa-direct-reward.asp

or

http://www.firstdirect.com/savings/cash-eisa-overview.shtml

3% or 3.1% fixed, and if you do need it, you lose no interest at all rather than two months.

bullet21

Hi there,

I was wondering whether it is worth using an ISA this year as the highest rate (notwithstanding the 7% Regular ISA with FirstDirect) is Barclays at 3.61% whereas Regular Savings accounts are 6% (Barclays) and 5% (Bradford & Bingley) which, after basic rate tax, still beats the ISA.

I only wish a few more banks would do regular saver ISA's with good rates!

RoyalBeluga

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I have a question already

Let's say I earn £20000 per year and I put the maximum allowance into an ISA, is that cash amount (£3K+) totally shielded from the tax man? In other words would putting £3K+ in an ISA effectively reduce my tax bill by £600+?

clouds21

Hi Bullet21,

remember that the Regular Savers accounts cap the monthly amount you can deposit (usually £1-£250 per month), so you are effectively only getting half the advertised rate, i.e. 3% (Barclays) before tax. If you've got a lump sum you'd be better off going for a Fixed rate if you can afford to lock it away for a fixed period, alternatively the Barclays account is a good rate .... as long as it doesn't drop once they've reeled you in! Where did I leave that crystal ball....

clouds21

Baldur

RoyalBeluga wrote: »

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I have a question already

Let's say I earn £20000 per year and I put the maximum allowance into an ISA, is that cash amount (£3K+) totally shielded from the tax man? In other words would putting £3K+ in an ISA effectively reduce my tax bill by £600+?

The tax-free element of a Cash ISA relates to the interest earned on the amount subscribed, not on the capital, which would, presumably have already been taxed (via income taxation, etc.).

RoyalBeluga

Baldur wrote: »

The tax-free element of a Cash ISA relates to the interest earned on the amount subscribed, not on the capital, which would, presumably have already been taxed (via income taxation, etc.).

:rolleyes: oh well. My accountant doesn't really do his best for me, he does his job and sends me his fee but I just don't feel he's doing his best to keep my tax bill as low as possible. I don't earn anywhere near £20K by the way so if I could find ways to reduce my tax bill by £600+ it would make my life so much less stressful, any ideas I might have missed?

Baldur

RoyalBeluga wrote: »

:rolleyes: oh well. My accountant doesn't really do his best for me, he does his job and sends me his fee but I just don't feel he's doing his best to keep my tax bill as low as possible. I don't earn anywhere near £20K by the way so if I could find ways to reduce my tax bill by £600+ it would make my life so much less stressful, any ideas I might have missed?

Probably a question better posed in the Cutting Tax Forum?