How to tie up £50k?

wafers

Any recommendations on which type of account to tie up savings? We currently have some money tied up in ISAs where the decent rate has ended, some in Premium Bonds and the rest in current type accounts which aren't great for returns. We have around £50k.

We'd like to tie up most of the money for 12 months and a small percentage in an easy access account in case of car replacement/major household bills etc. 

Because we have money in ISAs, is it worth transferring it into a new ISA rather than putting it into a bank account and then have to build ISA value back up again down the line? Shawbrook Bank are offering a 12 month cash ISA at 5.83% annually. 

Stepping away from ISAs, I've found NS&I are offering Guaranteed Growth Bonds at 6.2% gross fixed for 1 year. All interest over £1k is taxed, isn't it? 

We should have sorted this ages ago to maximise opportunities for decent interest on our savings. However, at least rates have increased in the meantime and Premium Bonds have paid out reasonably well so there's still some interest being accrued. 

Thanks in advance! 

Albermarle

If you are earning more than £17570 but are not a 40% taxpayer then yes you can earn £1000 in interest without paying tax.
Tax-free savings: check if you're eligible - Money Saving Expert
You can put up to £20K in a cash ISA per year, and not pay any tax on interest.
Normally it is better to transfer old ISA's into new ones to keep the tax free status.
The caveat is that ISA interest rates are usually a bit less than the equivalent non ISA account, so you have to do the maths.
There is a sub forum for ISA's and every question you might think of about transfers etc has been asked and answered numerous times so have a scroll through.
ISAs & tax-free savings — MoneySavingExpert Forum

wafers

Albermarle said:

If you are earning more than £17570 but are not a 40% taxpayer then yes you can earn £1000 in interest without paying tax.
Tax-free savings: check if you're eligible - Money Saving Expert
You can put up to £20K in a cash ISA per year, and not pay any tax on interest.
Normally it is better to transfer old ISA's into new ones to keep the tax free status.
The caveat is that ISA interest rates are usually a bit less than the equivalent non ISA account, so you have to do the maths.
There is a sub forum for ISA's and every question you might think of about transfers etc has been asked and answered numerous times so have a scroll through.
ISAs & tax-free savings — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Thanks for the info. Yes, I'd fit within that category earning more than £18k but not £40k taxpayer. Assuming I transfer my ISA balance across and then pay in another £20k to maximise my allowance, I won't be able to open another ISA though, will I? 
As far as paying 20% tax on interest over £1000, would it still apply if I opened several cash savings accounts with a 6% interest rate and deposited say £16k in each for 12 months? I'd accrue just under £1k interest in each so would be below the threshold. Or would Mr/Mrs Taxman look at my total savings and still tax me at 20% on my overall interest across the range of accounts? 
Thanks in advance. 

Albermarle

Or would Mr/Mrs Taxman look at my total savings and still tax me at 20% on my overall interest across the range of accounts? 

Yes the taxman is not that daft !

 Assuming I transfer my ISA balance across and then pay in another £20k to maximise my allowance, I won't be able to open another ISA though, will I? 

As suggested have a look through the ISA forum 

friolento

You started out by sayind we have £50k but then you only talk about yourself. Assuming you would be ok with splitting the £50k between twe: what is the tax and income status status of the second person? Each person has their own personal allowances.

wafers

friolento said:

You started out by sayind we have £50k but then you only talk about yourself. Assuming you would be ok with splitting the £50k between twe: what is the tax and income status status of the second person? Each person has their own personal allowances.

Yes, the 50k is combined savings between my partner and myself. Her tax and income status is the same as mine. 

friolento

wafers said:

friolento said:

You started out by sayind we have £50k but then you only talk about yourself. Assuming you would be ok with splitting the £50k between twe: what is the tax and income status status of the second person? Each person has their own personal allowances.

Yes, the 50k is combined savings between my partner and myself. Her tax and income status is the same as mine. 

Thanks for confirming this. How much of the £50k is in your respective ISAs, when did you last deposit new money into your ISAs?