Partially withdrawing Help to Buy

Lucyfr

Hey fellow money nerds! 

Hope you're doing well today  

I have £17,000 in an old Help to Buy ISA. I'm presuming I'm OK to withdraw £5,000 into my bank account, leaving the £12,000 maximum for the government bonus without causing any issues? I know a solicitor has to be the one to handle the £12,000 when a mortgage is applied for but but presuming I can faff with the rest of it myself...

I called Halifax but they didn't know 🙄 

Thanks so much!!

eskbanker

Yes, you can withdraw the excess over £12K, or indeed any amount - it would lose its ISA status if you withdrew it to a non-ISA account, but that's not the end of the world.  It's potentially a bit late now, but why haven't you taken advantage of a Lifetime ISA instead, which would have allowed you to earn government bonus on the lot?

Lucyfr

Aaaah great thank you!! So I could siphon off the £5,000 into another ISA to keep the ISA status of the old HtB you mean? I hadn't thought of that... 

Good point about the LISA. I'm over 40 so couldnt open one

eskbanker

Lucyfr said:

Aaaah great thank you!! So I could siphon off the £5,000 into another ISA to keep the ISA status of the old HtB you mean? I hadn't thought of that...

Yes, you can preserve its ISA status by asking another ISA provider to initiate a transfer, although that's conditional on both providers supporting partial transfers.  Having said that, ISA status isn't the be all and end all, so evaluate the best net return available to you by comparing ISA rates and taxable ones, allowing for your overall tax position, personal savings allowance, etc....

Lucyfr

eskbanker said:

Lucyfr said:

Aaaah great thank you!! So I could siphon off the £5,000 into another ISA to keep the ISA status of the old HtB you mean? I hadn't thought of that...

Yes, you can preserve its ISA status by asking another ISA provider to initiate a transfer, although that's conditional on both providers supporting partial transfers.  Having said that, ISA status isn't the be all and end all, so evaluate the best net return available to you by comparing ISA rates and taxable ones, allowing for your overall tax position, personal savings allowance, etc....

Brilliant thanks so much 😃