New ISA rules clarification on multiple accounts

friolento

Malchester said:

friolento said:

Malchester said:

friolenyesto said:

Malchester said:

I spoke to a Lloyds Bank agent last week who checked with their ISA team and said that I could, if I wanted, open two or more cash ISAs. Their website says you can't and their verdict is you cannot. They are not allowing anyone to open more than one cash ISA each year

Lloyds might not allow more than one of their own cash ISAs each year but they cannot stop you from having any number of active cash ISAs with other providers in the same year.

If you want more than one with a single provider, Zopa is probably your easiest choice as they allow you to have ISA pots, with any mixture of easy access and fixed ISAs. I think you can have up to 40 with them if this tickles your fancy. The Zopa rates are also much better than Lloyds'.

Yes but transfers out of Zopa have to include the whole ISA. You cannot transfer an easy access pot out and leave a fixed pot. If you want to transfer Easy access have to pay penalty to move any fixed rate ISA or leave all pots to the end of the longest term pot

That's not how I understand it. You can withdraw from the easy access ISA(s) as much or as little as you want, any time you want, whether you have a fixed term ISA or not.

The fixed term one is completely separate, and there will of course be a penalty if you withdraw it before maturity. That's the same at all providers.

You are correct about withdrawing. I was talking about transferring the ISA elsewhere as an ISA, not withdrawing funds to an account outside an ISA wrapper. You cannot transfer the easy access ISA elsewhere without including the fixed rate part of the transfer

OK, fair enough. So a way round it is not to take out a fixed rate at Zopa unless you are certain you can hold it to maturity. Their fixed rates are unattractive, anyway

friolento

kiloton said:

Well here is a spanner in the works. Current transfer of one Nationwide ISA is working. Completion hopefully by 26th April!!!! In Zopa you cannot have concurrent ISA transfers running, so I cannot transfer the other at the same time. Pretty annoyed at this. So if I did want to moved Access ISA money from that pot to the Fixed Rate, I will have run out of time because it would be another 15 working days for the rest of my money to be transferred. 

Having Googled it I can see it states that this the way it works for Zopa, but I wish there was an alert during the process so I could catch myself on and rethink things. My ISA with the most money is now earning a terrible interest rate until I can conduct the transfer 

Why not move the second one elsewhere? Moneybox is 5.16% and accepts transfers in

flagstone

I have just tried to put money into an Easy Access cash ISA that was opened by transferring-in another ISA in 23/24. But the provider is now asking me to sign a new ISA declaration form that says - "you´re not already paying into a cash ISA with another provider in the same tax year" with the explanation, when questioned on the phone, that 'it is not mandatory for providers to accept the chancellors new multiple ISA rules, but they possible will/maybe going to sometime ...' !!!

So if I return the 'signed' e-mail form and then later open another providers ISA am I 'HMRC snookered'?

Reading the Skipton BS split ISA allowance T's&C's, as a guide, they do not specifically mention being able to open further ISA's with different/multiple providers, it is believed the many providers can now be used in one tax year even if not clearly stated anywhere except some obscure tax manual? 

flaneurs_lobster

flagstone said:

But the provider is now asking me to sign a new ISA declaration form that says - "you´re not already paying into a cash ISA with another provider in the same tax year" with the explanation, when questioned on the phone, that 'it is not mandatory for providers to accept the chancellors new multiple ISA rules, but they possible will/maybe going to sometime ...' !!!

So if I return the 'signed' e-mail form and then later open another providers ISA am I 'HMRC snookered'?

I've taken the view that I am not going to "sign" any "document" which requires me to make a false declaration (even if I and possibly the provider know it to be an invalid requirement).

refluxer

flagstone said:

I have just tried to put money into an Easy Access cash ISA that was opened by transferring-in another ISA in 23/24. But the provider is now asking me to sign a new ISA declaration form that says - "you´re not already paying into a cash ISA with another provider in the same tax year" with the explanation, when questioned on the phone, that 'it is not mandatory for providers to accept the chancellors new multiple ISA rules, but they possible will/maybe going to sometime ...' !!!

So if I return the 'signed' e-mail form and then later open another providers ISA am I 'HMRC snookered'?

No - you'll be fine as long as HMRC is concerned, because you won't have broken any ISA rules.

The part of the ISA declaration you quoted applied to previous tax years but not the current one, so either the provider hasn't got round to updating the wording on the declaration or they're joining a number of banks who seem to think they can dictate their own ISA rules that go against the government's.

flagstone

Thank you for the responses, at present the provider will not transfer my money to my open Flexible ISA until I return the 'signed' declaration!

As I've now just found the gov amended regulations 2024 and one of the included explanatory notes I will phone them tomorrow and 'discuss' the situation and try and get them to 'adjust' their position. !

This was all meant to be so straightforward !!

masonic

Just strike out the offending text before signing. If they refuse to accept it, raise a formal complaint that it is in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and must be considered unenforceable.

JAllen_2

Below is what Barclays currently stipulate for its Flexible ISA. Is this another case where an institution has not updated its product terms and conditions to reflect the new ISA rules?

Under the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 (the ‘ISA regulations’), you can’t apply for the Flexible ISA if you have already subscribed to a cash ISA, or have already subscribed the maximum amount allowed to any combination of permitted ISAs, either with us or any other ISA provider, in the same tax year as you are applying for this Flexible ISA.

masonic

Yes, only the part after the 'or' is valid.

eskbanker

JAllen_2 said:

Below is what Barclays currently stipulate for its Flexible ISA. Is this another case where an institution has not updated its product terms and conditions to reflect the new ISA rules?

Under the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 (the ‘ISA regulations’), you can’t apply for the Flexible ISA if you have already subscribed to a cash ISA, or have already subscribed the maximum amount allowed to any combination of permitted ISAs, either with us or any other ISA provider, in the same tax year as you are applying for this Flexible ISA.

I suppose technically the wording is correct as it stands, but I doubt they'll be adjusting the reference to the legislation when changing it!

JAllen_2 said:

Under the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 as amended by the Individual Savings Account (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (the ‘ISA regulations’), you can’t apply for the Flexible ISA if you have already subscribed to a cash ISA, or have already subscribed the maximum amount allowed to any combination of permitted ISAs, either with us or any other ISA provider, in the same tax year as you are applying for this Flexible ISA.