Same Tax year Help to Buy ISA

WellmanC

Hi All,

Any help would be massively appreciated please!!

I opened a help to buy ISA with Halifax in July 2018 (tax year 2018-2019)

Unfortunately I got confused with the rules and didn't transfer via standing order, instead doing a normal bank transfer. Because of this the account was then kind of stuck, I couldn't add anymore money to it.

I closed the account in September 2019 (tax year 2019-2020)

I have been told that I cannot open another help to buy until the next tax year, which obviously is impossible now. But I was wondering how true this is as the previous account was actually opened in a previous tax year, there for this would be a new tax year. Or does it go by when the account was closed??

I cant find any relevant information online

Ed-1

WellmanC wrote: »

Hi All,

Any help would be massively appreciated please!!

I opened a help to buy ISA with Halifax in July 2018 (tax year 2018-2019)

Unfortunately I got confused with the rules and didn't transfer via standing order, instead doing a normal bank transfer. Because of this the account was then kind of stuck, I couldn't add anymore money to it.

I closed the account in September 2019 (tax year 2019-2020)

I have been told that I cannot open another help to buy until the next tax year, which obviously is impossible now. But I was wondering how true this is as the previous account was actually opened in a previous tax year, there for this would be a new tax year. Or does it go by when the account was closed??

I cant find any relevant information online

It's only open this tax year if it was subscribed to this tax year. You're fine to open another.

eskbanker

Ed-1 wrote: »

It's only open this tax year if it was subscribed to this tax year. You're fine to open another.

That's not the way I read the rules - https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/#919a24ea-e1f7-648f-8ce9-ff0000ad17aa doesn't refer to the year of opening or subscribing and therefore endorses what OP was told, correctly in my view:

If I close my account, can I open a new Help to Buy: ISA?

If you hold a Help to Buy: ISA, and close it without claiming your government bonus, you can open a new account in the following tax year (provided the new account is opened before 30 November 2019).

masonic

Best to turn to the scheme rules rather than an FAQ for the definitive answer:
https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/documents/2015/12/scheme-rules.pdf/ (page 23)

5.3 Restrictions on opening a Help to Buy: ISA
(A) An Eligible Customer shall only be entitled to open (and hold) one Help to Buy: ISA at any time. An Eligible Customer shall not be restricted from opening a Help to Buy: ISA if that Eligible Customer has previously held a Help to Buy: ISA, provided that any previously held Help to Buy: ISA is no longer open.
(B) An Eligible Customer shall not be entitled to open, subscribe to, transfer into or hold a Help to Buy: ISA if opening, subscribing to, transferring into or holding such Help to Buy:ISA would be in breach of the provisions of the ISA Regulations.

So, normal rules on subscribing to cash ISAs apply. Potentially even including the "investor error: self-transfer" loophole, but certainly if no money was subscribed to the first HTB ISA, and no money has been subscribed to another cash ISA, a second HTB ISA could be opened and funded. Or if money was subscribed to the HTB ISA/another cash ISA, a second HTB ISA could be opened now, and funded in the next tax year.

eskbanker

Fair enough - can't argue with the principle that the full rules outrank FAQ in the event of contradiction!

I did have a quick look through the rules before posting and couldn't find any reference to the 'following year' stipulation but your interpretation of this being the standard 'one per year' proviso does seem plausible....