LISA queries

M4RTYG84

Hi, sorry if these may sound like silly questions but I'm just wanting to make sure I've got this right in my head before I go ahead with it.

My wife and I are 39, will turn 40 this coming November 24 and January 25 respectively. We've recently just finished an IVA and want to get on the housing market as quickly as possible. Everything I'm reading says that you need to be between 18-39 or under 40 to open a LISA for the purpose of helping with a deposit.

Does this mean that as long as we aren't 40, i.e. at most 39 years and 364 days old, we can open a LISA for the purpose helping us buy a house?

Or does it mean that we would have needed to have opened it before we turned 39 so that after the 1 year period it can be used for the deposit on a house?

And does it mean that after the age of 40 we can't use the money for buying a house and only for retirement?

Sorry if these questions sound silly but just want to make sure we are saving in the right place as the 25% bonus is too good of an opportunity to pass up if we can open up one now but don't want the money locked in if we can't use it for buying a house after we turn 40 as it'll take us a year of saving to get a deposit and also to build our credit after the IVA. 

gravel_2

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-isas

M4RTYG84

gravel_2 said:

I've had a read of this and this is why I'm feeling abit dense haha

So as long as we haven't turned 40 yet we can open a LISA?

And can it be used to buy a house at any point if that is how we wish to use it regardless of our age?

eskbanker

M4RTYG84 said:
So as long as we haven't turned 40 yet we can open a LISA?

Yes, as long as you're UK residents.

M4RTYG84 said:
And can it be used to buy a house at any point if that is how we wish to use it regardless of our age?

Yes, subject to incurring the withdrawal penalty if using it within the first year.

M4RTYG84

eskbanker said:

M4RTYG84 said:
So as long as we haven't turned 40 yet we can open a LISA?

Yes, as long as you're UK residents.

M4RTYG84 said:
And can it be used to buy a house at any point if that is how we wish to use it regardless of our age?

Yes, subject to incurring the withdrawal penalty if using it within the first year.

Perfect, thank you very much.

Blowsbubbles

Can open before 40. 
The 25% goes on payments made in until you are 50 years old. 
You can use for house (I think first time buyer but could be wrong) or retirement 

Kim_13

As both of you turn 40 this tax year, you're limited to opening one LISA each (I.e. either Cash or S&S) as the new ISA freedoms do not extend to LISAs. A Cash LISA would be best for a house purchase and an S&S LISA for retirement. Once open, they can be paid into until the age of 50. In theory you could transfer to S&S with a small balance left in the Cash LISA post property purchase, but you may experience difficulty in finding a provider who will accept the transfer once you're over 40.