Too late to open an ISA?

sherbie28

If I opened an ISA tomorrow for example and put 20K in and then added 20K on 6th April would I get interest on 40K for the 2025/2026 tax year? Also is it an easy process to open an ISA or do I have to mess about with proving identity etc with photo licence like I had to for a savings account.

eskbanker

Yes to the first question, assuming no withdrawals.

Nobody can give a definitive answer to the second - financial institutions are obliged to verify ID for all applications but will generally try to do so electronically, which is invisible to the applicant, but if such checks fail then more extensive manual alternative processes will kick in.

Exodi

Eskbanker's spot on, and FWIW, I opened an ISA with T212 where they prompted me to upload a picture of my passport (fortunately I keep a scanned copy), which I did and the account was verified and opened ready to accept deposits before the kettle had boiled - money then in the account the same day.

You should have no issues using this years allowance before 6th April.

Ayr_Rage

If you have been living at your address a while and are on the electoral register, have an NI number and a few bank or utility accounts you will most likely get verified by a CRA without providing any documents.

Mark_d

During the 2025/2026 tax year you will earn interest on whatever money is in your account during that tax year, based on how much money is in your account.  ISA is just a tax free wrapper.  The account can function just like an ordinary account.

ISAs to require you to prove identity, to prevent money laundering.  You also need to provide your National Insurance Number.

sherbie28

Thanks, I am looking at a fixed rate ISA which is on offer with the bank who I hold my current account with so hopefully the setup might be easier (or not, lol).

Daz2009

If it's fixed rate check they allow you to add money after the initial deposit,some don't 

Albermarle

Daz2009 said:

If it's fixed rate check they allow you to add money after the initial deposit,some don't 

Most allow a 14/30 day window. A handful allow later deposits during the fixed term.

sherbie28

Daz2009 said:

If it's fixed rate check they allow you to add money after the initial deposit,some don't 

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realise that they have a maximum amount. I just assumed every ISA lets you add 20k to the existing 20k if you wanted to do that the following tax year and so on. I'm wondering if I've been a little naive about it all. Is it likely every year i'd be moving the amount to a different provider in order to add a new 20k. I thought you could build on the original amount. 

eskbanker

sherbie28 said:

Daz2009 said:

If it's fixed rate check they allow you to add money after the initial deposit,some don't 

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realise that they have a maximum amount. I just assumed every ISA lets you add 20k to the existing 20k if you wanted to do that the following tax year and so on. I'm wondering if I've been a little naive about it all. Is it likely every year i'd be moving the amount to a different provider in order to add a new 20k. I thought you could build on the original amount. 

Up to you - if you're using fixed term products where you can't deposit after the initial funding window then in subsequent years you can either keep opening new ISAs or you can try to keep them all together by transferring into one product, but the bottom line is that you can continue to pay £20K into ISAs every year until the rules change....

slinger2

sherbie28 said:

Daz2009 said:

If it's fixed rate check they allow you to add money after the initial deposit,some don't 

Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realise that they have a maximum amount. I just assumed every ISA lets you add 20k to the existing 20k if you wanted to do that the following tax year and so on. I'm wondering if I've been a little naive about it all. Is it likely every year i'd be moving the amount to a different provider in order to add a new 20k. I thought you could build on the original amount. 

A cash ISA is just a savings account where you pay no tax. Some cash ISAs let you add more, some don't, it depends of the terms and conditions of the account.

Generally speaking an easy access variable rate product will let you add money year after year. However a fixed rate product generally won't (although there are exceptions). However, even if they let you add more money that doesn't mean you'll get a good rate. Most people on here "transfer" their cash ISAs around to get the best deal.