Lifetime ISA Deposit Withdrawal

Flatbuyer123

I have recently had a nightmare trying to withdraw my Lifetime ISA money to put towards my property as a 1st time buyer.

I had not realised the time it takes to withdraw the money and my solicitor had also forgotten that I was using a Lifetime ISA to put towards my deposit. As a result, I completed my property purchase using available cash rather than my Lifetime ISA, but now I want to withdraw the money without facing the 25% government tax. If I did not complete the purchase on they day, I would have faced other expenses, hence why I did not wait for the funds in my Lifetime ISA to be withdrawn (I was advised this can take up to 6 working days).

Although I should have maybe done more research about withdrawing money from my ISA, I would have thought my solicitor would have know when to enquire about withdrawing this money. Instead they have taken no blame and said it's all my fault. For clarity, solicitors must also sign withdrawal documents to withdraw money from a Lifetime ISA which is going towards a deposit, hence why I thought my solicitor would reach out to get the ball moving.

Has anyone faced a similar scenario and was able to withdraw their Lifetime ISA without facing the 25% tax? If anyone has tips, it would be greatly appreciated.

eskbanker

There won't be anything you can do to avoid the withdrawal penalty being charged, but could potentially try to argue that some or all of this loss should be covered by the solicitor, by virtue of their failure to guide you through a process that, as a first time buyer, you're inevitably not familiar with.