Regular Savings account to Cash ISA

Sputnik1

I have funds in an ordinary savings account which is now attracting yearly interest payments in excess of £1000.  I need to transfer this account to a Cash ISA so I'm not paying tax on the interest over my PSA limit.  But is there an efficient way of doing this in one go, or am I limited to withdrawing/transferring £20k at a time on a year-to-year basis?

jimjames

The ISA limit is £20k per year so you'll need to withdraw from your savings to pay into the ISA up to that amount each year. If you have a partner you can each pay in £20k per year

eskbanker

Sputnik1 said:

Regular Savings account to Cash ISA

For future reference, the term 'regular savings account' is normally used specifically for accounts that are intended to be funded monthly, with capped contributions and correspondingly generous interest rates:

Regular savings accounts 2024: Earn up to 8% (moneysavingexpert.com)

In terms of your desire to avoid tax, presumably lowering the balance of the taxable account by £20K (to fund an ISA) may reduce the annual interest earned below £1K?

400ixl

Each individual can only put £20k into an ISA each financial year. So the only way to get more than £20k in per year is to have more individuals. So for example a partner could also put in £20k to their ISA but there is no concept of a joint ISA so you would be trusting them in that you are gifting them the money.

Sputnik1

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply.

@eskbanker Yes, apologies for the slightly misleading thread title, I used the term "ordinary" in the text body, which was what I meant.

The savings account comprises over £60K (yes...I know...I shouldn't have let it accumulate to that figure!), but now I'm trying to get my finger out my a**e and get it into a Cash ISA.  I'm aware that, when opening a new ISA, it's possible to consolidate previous ISA accounts into the new one, i.e, in effect much greater than £20K is deposited in to the new ISA in one tax year.  I was kinda hoping there was an allowable way to "consolidate" from an ordinary savings account into a new ISA upon opening in one hit, but I guess I can only draw down a max of £20K at a time per year, or until I reach a balance where the interest on the ordinary savings account doesn't exceed £1K.