ISAs

WinterinJune

Hi, I have an Barclays ISA maturing soon and want to take some back, but reinvest the remainder into a new ISA!  I am aware that any existing money in an ISA that you wish to transfer to a new ISA does not affect your annual allowance.  However, is this only right if I take out a new ISA with Barclays OR can I actually switch to another bank and still not lose my annual allowance?  And whatever the answer, how do I go about opening a new ISA with it being absolutely clear that it is not 'new' money?  Many thanks in advance.

InvesterJones

Do take a look at the dedicated ISA sub-board for lots of help around things like this. ISA transfers can be to anyone who accepts ISA transfers and not affect new contribution allowances. Typically you go to the place you want to transfer to and initiate the transfer, then they will collect it from the existing location.

Fatferds12

WinterinJune said:

Hi, I have an Barclays ISA maturing soon and want to take some back, but reinvest the remainder into a new ISA!  I am aware that any existing money in an ISA that you wish to transfer to a new ISA does not affect your annual allowance.  However, is this only right if I take out a new ISA with Barclays OR can I actually switch to another bank and still not lose my annual allowance?  And whatever the answer, how do I go about opening a new ISA with it being absolutely clear that it is not 'new' money?  Many thanks in advance.

I asked this question to a new provider as I wanted to open an ISA by transferring across 2 existing ISAs to them and this is the reply I got back yesterday.
'Yes, you are able to transfer in multiple ISAs. At the start of the application you will be asked if any existing ISAs are to be transferred. Towards the end of the application you’ll then be asked to provide the details of the ISA(s).'
I hope this helps.

Aretnap

It doesn't matter whether the new ISA is with Barclays or a completely different provider, so long as it's an ISA that accepts transfers.

To transfer money from Old ISA to New ISA without using up your annual ISA allowance you should open a new ISA, but not pay anything into it. Then on the new ISA provider's website look for the instructions on how to transfer in an ISA. Essentially you will have to fill in a short form giving New ISA provider details of the Old ISA, and instructing them to request the transfer from Barclays. It's the New ISA provider that has to initiate the process: you can't do it from the Old ISA provider's website.

What you must not do is withdraw cash from your Old ISA into your current account, then pay it in to New ISA - that is what will use up this year's ISA allowance. It has to go directly from Old ISA to New ISA through a process initiated by the new provider.

ColdIron

I have nothing to add regarding your questions but I applaud the absence of an apostrophe in ISAs 

Yorkie1

As others have said, any transfer, whether of part or all the funds in it, does not count as new money for the purposes of the annual allowance, as long as you go to the new provider and ask them to do the transfer in. Do not withdraw funds from the existing ISA and put them into the new ISA, or they will count as this year's new funds.

When you do the transfer application, you will be asked a) whether to transfer funds now or at a future date (e.g. at the end of a fixed term product), and b) how much to transfer - there will be an option for transferring all the balance, or you can put in a lesser actual amount if you prefer.

Kim_13

It would be worth transferring it all to a Flexible Cash ISA before you withdraw anything - then you’ll have the ability to replace that amount before the end of this tax year, even if you have fully used 25/26s £20,000 allowance.

redpete

Money that you put into a new ISA using the receiving institution's transfer process does not count as new money. Note that if you withdraw money from the old ISA into a non-ISA account and then put that money into a new ISA it *does not* count as a transfer and it does count as new money into an ISA.

WinterinJune

Thank you everyone for your comments and advice. Very much appreciated.  KRs