Cash LISA - Bonus query

noclaf

I have a Cash LISA and am unable to find a article which gives me a clear answer on two questions so hoping it can be cleared up here:

1. I did not use the 2018/19 allowance at all, so I assume that I've missed the boat with the £1k bonus for that tax year? E.g: depositing £8k in this tax year would not see me recoup the £1k bonus from 2018/19 and current 2019/20 tax year so £2k total?

2. What's the deadline for the 2019/20 tax year, by which I should deposit £4k in my LISA to receive the £1k bonus?

Thanks all!

eskbanker

noclaf said:

1. I did not use the 2018/19 allowance at all, so I assume that I've missed the boat with the £1k bonus for that tax year? E.g: depositing £8k in this tax year would not see me recoup the £1k bonus from 2018/19 and current 2019/20 tax year so £2k total?

Yes, you've missed out on your 2018/19 allowance (and corresponding bonus), but in any case you can't deposit £8K into a LISA in a tax year, the hard limit is £4K, i.e. it's not a matter of depositing money that won't earn the bonus.

noclaf said:

2. What's the deadline for the 2019/20 tax year, by which I should deposit £4k in my LISA to receive the £1k bonus?

April 5th is the deadline, although with that being a Sunday this year, many will be looking to conclude business by Friday 3rd. However, given the 'use it or lose it' rule above, it would be prudent not to leave it until the last moment, but to be clear there's no specific LISA bonus-related deadline over and above the tax year itself.

noclaf

Thanks eskbanker, both responses as expected and will definately use up my allowance well before April 5th to avoid the usual lastmin.com rush to deposit and run into system meltdown issues!