Life time ISA

Parkesy

Do I have to pay into a Life time ISA every year?  Or can I just pay in as and when I have the cash?

eskbanker

The latter, although with the free 25% from the government, it pays to make as much use of it as possible - are you using it for saving for a property or towards retirement?

Parkesy

saving towards property but thought I read somewhere that if don't pay in during the year HMRC can close the account?

eskbanker

Parkesy said:

saving towards property but thought I read somewhere that if don't pay in during the year HMRC can close the account?

Where did you read that?

Perhaps you're getting confused with the situation whereby if you go a whole tax year without contributing to an ISA then the next time you wish to do so, you'll need to reactivate it, but that's a simple formality and doesn't involve closure by HMRC or anyone else.

However, if you're envisaging the potential for significant periods of time without making contributions because of insufficient funds, that would suggest that the prospects of saving a meaningful property deposit are pretty remote, so, rather than having to pay a withdrawal penalty to get your money out of the LISA, you might wish to reconsider if it's a good idea to put any in there in the first place?