Withdrawing from flexible ISAs and annual allowance

mjstephens2001

Hi,
Can I please check if money withdrawn from this year's ISA subscription in a flexible ISA still contributes to the £20k cap?

I have a flexible Zopa ISA, funded this tax year. I also have a Plum ISA (non-flexible). At the start of the tax year I put £5k in Zopa, and have also funded £15k to the Plum ISA (so total £20k, maxing out my allowance).

Can I now take money out of Zopa and add to Plum? E.g. If I withdraw £4k from Zopa and add it to Plum, does this mean:
a) I will have funded Zopa £1k this tax year, and Plum £19k (=£20k total), or
b) I will still have funded Zopa £5k, but also funded Plum £19k (=£24k total)?

I understand also that I can dip into previous years' money in the flexible Zopa ISA, but this doesn't affect this years allowance?

TIA

Ayr_Rage

You have used your annual allowance, £5k to Zopa and £15k to Plum.

Money withdrawn from a flexible ISA, Zopa in your case, can only go back into that same ISA according to the latest rules.

You CANNOT add it to your Plum ISA this tax year.

eskbanker

Ayr_Rage said:

You have used your annual allowance, £5k to Zopa and £15k to Plum.

Money withdrawn from a flexible ISA, Zopa in your case, can only go back into that same ISA according to the latest rules.

You CANNOT add it to your Plum ISA this tax year.

The rules on this were changed back to the previous iteration in July, so flexibly-withdrawn current year (only) money can now be paid back into any ISA again:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6624336/change-to-the-flexible-isa-regulation-5ddb-dated-15-july-2025

However, the main gov.uk page doesn't appear to reflect the legislative change, despite the document history saying that it was updated at the same time:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-isa-subscriptions-for-your-investors#flexible-isas