Help to Buy ISA

FTBAngst

My ISA has just stagnated because I’ve been trying to buy a house for about 18months! So no LISAs and never bothered with help to buy. I’ve changed jobs and unable to do anything house wise for at least 6months (probation). I’m aiming to buy as soon as I can, so I don’t particularly want to commit to a LISA. With Help to Buy, is 1,200 the max you can put in in the first month? So if I were to put in 1,200 now, and then 200 for another 5months, that would give her me to 2,200 and 550 bonus. Is that the maximum I can get without getting a LISA?

grumiofoundation

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/help-to-buy-ISA/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-isas/

You need to have 1600 saved in help to buy ISA to get the bonus, max bonus is £3000 (but by this point LISA would have "won" in terms of bonus).

Probably makes sense to open help to buy (1200 first month, then 200) and LISA (with £1). Then if your plans change you would then be able to use the LISA after it has been open for 12 months and may be able to get a higher government bonus.

FTBAngst

Ooo thanks I didn’t think of that.

So hypothetically -
Could I put in 1,200 now in the help to buy Isa, and £1 in a LISA, and put in 200 a month inthe help to buy until April (so that will finish at 2,400).
If I still haven’t found anywhere or started looking put in £17599 before April 6th. And after April 6th put in another 20,000 just before I exchange to maximise the bonus? And because the LISA will have been open since sept 2019, I can withdraw it for house buying in sept 2020 with the bonus? I currently have the money in an ISA. I’ve not moved it or anything for years

grumiofoundation

FTBAngst wrote: »

Ooo thanks I didn’t think of that.

So hypothetically -
Could I put in 1,200 now in the help to buy Isa, and £1 in a LISA, and put in 200 a month inthe help to buy until April (so that will finish at 2,400).
If I still haven’t found anywhere or started looking put in £17599 before April 6th. And after April 6th put in another 20,000 just before I exchange to maximise the bonus? And because the LISA will have been open since sept 2019, I can withdraw it for house buying in sept 2020 with the bonus? I currently have the money in an ISA. I’ve not moved it or anything for years

You are getting confused with ISA allowance (20000), there are different rules for paying into LISA and HTB ISA.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions, requirements penalties etc of each scheme.

You can only pay £4000 per tax year into the LISA. This means you can pay (for example) £4000 in March and £4000 in April, means by end of April 2020 you would have 10000 (8000+ 2 x bonus). Would then be able to use once had been open for 12 months.

FTBAngst

Ah thanks. So could I put in£1 in LISA, 1,200 in HTB, then regular payments up to March, if it looks like I won’t be buying before September, then move it into LISA and add 1,600 and then just before I buy add another £4000 to get £2000 bonus?