Multiple ISA's & the rules

KW987

I hope you can advise because I'm finding this really confusing.
Am I able to pay into a cash ISA (maxed out), a stocks & shares ISA & a help to buy ISA in a single tax year?
What if I've done it?
The s&s ISA & the H2B ISA are paid by DD.

Please can you advise.
Many thanks for your time.

eskbanker

You can pay into as many ISAs as you like, subject to an overall aggregate limit of £20K per tax year.

KW987

So does that mean I've broken the rules? If so, what happens now?
So is what you're saying, is it someone paid 20k into a cash ISA, they're not allowed to pay into any other?

ColdIron

There is no restriction on the number of ISAs (not ISA's) that you can open or pay into in a tax year even if they are different types. There is a £20,000 annual allowance which you cannot exceed across those ISAs

So yes

But then again no

You say your cash ISA is 'maxed out'. If that means you have already subscribed £20,000 to it then you have no allowance left so you can't subscribe (pay new money into) any other ISA of any type

It doesn't matter how the money gets there, DD etc

InvesterJones

KW987 said:

So does that mean I've broken the rules? If so, what happens now?
So is what you're saying, is it someone paid 20k into a cash ISA, they're not allowed to pay into any other?

We can't know if you've broken the rules as we're not very good at mind reading.

But yes, if you paid 20k into a cash ISA you wouldn't be allowed to pay into another. If you've done this, ring HMRC and perhaps contact the provider you've paid into and ask them to reject/return the money.

eskbanker

KW987 said:

So does that mean I've broken the rules? If so, what happens now?
So is what you're saying, is it someone paid 20k into a cash ISA, they're not allowed to pay into any other?

It's not me saying it, it's what the rules say!

In the 2025 to 2026 tax year, the maximum you can save in ISAs is£20,000

https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts

If you've exceeded this, then it'll be picked up by HMRC in their compliance checks following the end of the tax year - anecdotally they will often forgive first time 'offenders' but they retain the right to declare excess subscriptions as taxable and to collect the relevant tax liability.  How much have you paid into each ISA and when?

friolento

KW987 said:

So does that mean I've broken the rules? If so, what happens now?
So is what you're saying, is it someone paid 20k into a cash ISA, they're not allowed to pay into any other?

That’s right, your total annual allowance across all ISAs is £20k. HMRC will catch up either with you after all providers have reported, sometime around autumn next year.

If you are still in the cooldown period, you can close ISAs that you shouldn’t have opened, and HMRC will never know.

If not, you might want to withdraw the surplus you deposited, and keep detailed records of what you did for when HMRC will contact you. If you are seen to have reduced your total contribution to no more than £20k at your earliest opportunity, you are likely to get let off with just a “don’t do it again”

KW987

Oh really? Sounds like I've done wrong then. What do I do, any idea?

nottsphil

KW987 said:

Oh really? Sounds like I've done wrong then. What do I do, any idea?

You could try reading the replies you presumably missed by the length of time you took composing that post.

ColdIron

friolento said:

sorry about the odd formatting

Blimey, that formatting has quite a reach

I often copy/paste into Notepad to remove formatting (Word will often retain it) and copy paste again

EthicsGradient

ColdIron said:

friolento said:

sorry about the odd formatting

Blimey, that formatting has quite a reach

I often copy/paste into Notepad to remove formatting (Word will often retain it) and copy paste again

Browsers may have an option like "paste plain text" available with a right click - or a key combo such as Ctrl + Shift + V. I'd guess Apple has a similar method.