Lifetime ISA Query

AJS321

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question. I haven’t been able to find an answer anywhere online.

I’ve been saving for my first home for a few years now and still have some way to go before reaching my savings target. I’ve now decided to open a Lifetime ISA.

I’ve already saved £18,000 in an ordinary ISA. Will I be able to add all or some of this amount to the Lifetime ISA when I open it, or will I have to keep it in an ordinary ISA? And if so, will I still be able to put it towards the deposit on a house in a few years time alongside money I will have saved by then in the Lifetime ISA and the government bonus?

Thanks for any advice.

eskbanker

You can put up to £4K into a LISA in any given tax year, regardless of whether this is new money or transfers from non-Lifetime ISAs.

So, if you open a LISA before 5 April you can shift £4K from your existing ISA into it, and then another £4K after 6 April, with potentially another £4K after 6 April 2020, thereby turning £12K into £15K with the government bonus.

And yes, anything not in the LISA when you buy can be added to the funds you're using.

Non-Lifetime/HTB cash ISAs are typically not the best places to accumulate decent interest so you'd get a better return with current accounts and regular savers - for more details see http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/which-saving-account and http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-accounts-best-interest