Transfer from Help to buy to Lifestime ISA

allsun12

I have had a Plum LISA set up for 12 months now, in addition to a H2B isa which I have been saving in. I have determined that as I am now ready to buy, it will be most beneficial for me to transfer funds from my Nationwide H2B isa into the Plum LISA. When i requested the transfer through plum directly, they said that because it is not a LISA from Nationwide, they cannot compete the transfer. What do I do in this situation?

Will it be okay for me to withdraw the money from the H2B isa and then drop it into the LISA seperatley or does this not work?

eskbanker

Does your determination recognise the fact that you can only get £4K from your HTB ISA into the LISA in any tax year, regardless of whether this is via a transfer or a withdrawal and redeposit? The latter method would count towards your 2026/27 ISA contribution allowance but this may not be an issue for you?

masonic

As above, if you've paid in £4k already since the start of this tax year then that's your lot unfortunately.

allsun12

there is under £4000 in the Help to buy isa yes. Just looking at transferring the full amount over to the LISA. I am absolutley sure it is the correct thing to be doing, just need some support on the transfer method side of things, as Plum isnt allowing a direct transfer. I have not yet paid anything into my LISA. I am looking to transfer the £4000 in one go from my H2B

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82037054#Comment_82037054

If you're happy to have the £4K counting towards your annual £20K ISA contribution allowance (i.e. you won't be paying more than a further £16K into ISAs by 5 April 2027) then yes, withdrawing and redepositing is fine instead of transferring.

allsun12

perfect thank you so much. That answers my question completely. Just to confirm, if i were to withdraw the full amount from my H2B (which is under £4000) and deposit it into my LISA, which has now been up and running for 12 months, I wont be messing up my chances of the bonus

masonic

You'll have to wait for the bonus of course, but providing things don't move really quickly I doubt you'll need the money before the bonus is credited.