Is there a way I can speed up getting my LISA bonus?

ElliotGay0

I'm currently in the process of buying a house, which will have in all likelihood concluded before my LISA bonus for this year arrives. £1000 extra would be a big help to put towards my deposit, so I'm looking for any way I can get it sooner than the usual 6-8 weeks!

kuratowski

Not really, there's a fixed time window set by HMRC (aligned to a tax month) and I'm not aware there are any platforms which prefund LISA government bonuses.

Saying that, house buying tends to takes a lot longer than you think, so it may be that it arrives in time for completion anyhow.

If it does not work out, meaning you're left with £1000 in a LISA you can't remove without penalty before age 60, then the usual recommendation would be not to hold it as cash for that length of time, but instead to transfer it to a S&S LISA (assuming you're under 40 years old, AJ Bell will accept your inward transfer).

masonic

kuratowski said:

Not really, there's a fixed time window set by HMRC (aligned to a tax month) and I'm not aware there are any platforms which prefund LISA government bonuses.

I don't think this would even be permitted by HMRC.

eskbanker

ElliotGay0 said:

I'm currently in the process of buying a house, which will have in all likelihood concluded before my LISA bonus for this year arrives. £1000 extra would be a big help to put towards my deposit, so I'm looking for any way I can get it sooner than the usual 6-8 weeks!

As covered in numerous threads and articles, the word 'deposit' is ambiguous and can sometimes refer to the down payment at exchange of contracts but alternatively the total non-mortgage component of the purchase, some of which may be applicable only at completion.

You should receive your £1K by around the end of May, and, as above, there won't be any way of expediting that, but you can make multiple withdrawals from a LISA to support a first-time property purchase, so could access all except £1K at any time, and then the £1K at the end of May, so discuss phasing of funds with your conveyancer to see if there's any way that the cashflow can be made to work, without breaking any rules....

Ed-1

masonic said:

kuratowski said:

Not really, there's a fixed time window set by HMRC (aligned to a tax month) and I'm not aware there are any platforms which prefund LISA government bonuses.

I don't think this would even be permitted by HMRC.

Well it is for pension tax relief.

masonic

Ed-1 said:

masonic said:

kuratowski said:

Not really, there's a fixed time window set by HMRC (aligned to a tax month) and I'm not aware there are any platforms which prefund LISA government bonuses.

I don't think this would even be permitted by HMRC.

Well it is for pension tax relief.

Pensions and LISAs differ in many respects. The legislation around bonus claims for LISAs can be found here if you wish to review for provisions that would allow an ISA manager to pay the bonus before it has been confirmed by HMRC that it is payable.