Transfer Cash ISAs Discussion Area

CYPER

11.2008 I opened an ISA account with Bradford & Bingley for a 12 months period, so on 11.2009 I withdrew the money, which essentially closed it. Some days ago I opened a new ISA with Alliance&L, so I have 4 questions:

1 - As my first ISA ended in the current financial year was I allowed to open the new one with A&L?
2 - If I put less than £3600 before 6th April am I allowed to top it up to its limit in the next financial year?
3 - I want to open a second one with A&L after 6th April, so ultimately I'll have 2 ISAs with them - old and new. Relating to the 2nd question is the total limit of £5100 only for the new ISA or for both (if I haven't invested to the maximum during 2009-2010 fin year). Also can I merge them into one with a higher limit?
4 - As far as I know only the income/interest from the ISA is tax free, but one guy was arguing with me that the money/capital invested is also tax free, thus I don't need to pay tax on the £3600. I believe this is incorrect, right?

Thank you in advance.

Baldur

CYPER wrote: »

1 - As my first ISA ended in the current financial year was I allowed to open the new one with A&L?

When the ISA ended is irrelevant. Did you subscribe ANY new money to that account on or after 6th April 2009?

2 - If I put less than £3600 before 6th April am I allowed to top it up to its limit in the next financial year?

No. Each tax year's ISA allowance disappears forever on 5th April.

The answers to your other questions depend on your answer to my query about question 1.

CYPER

Baldur wrote: »

Did you subscribe ANY new money to that account on or after 6th April 2009?

No, the ISA was closed forever

Baldur

CYPER wrote: »

No....

If you did not subscribe to the B&B ISA on or after 6th April 2009, then you have your full allowance available and it can be subscribed to any provider before April 5th.

I want to open a second one with A&L after 6th April, so ultimately I'll have 2 ISAs with them - old and new. Relating to the 2nd question is the total limit of £5100 only for the new ISA or for both (if I haven't invested to the maximum during 2009-2010 fin year). Also can I merge them into one with a higher limit?

If you open the A&L Flexible ISA, you can add your 2010/11 allowance to the same account. It's unlikely that they would open two separate ISA accounts.

The annual ISA allowance is per individual, not per account, so if you are eligible to open the account with your current tax year's allowance of £3,600 you can add your 2010/11 allowance of £5,100 on or after April 6th.

As far as I know only the income/interest from the ISA is tax free, but one guy was arguing with me that the money/capital invested is also tax free, thus I don't need to pay tax on the £3600. I believe this is incorrect, right?

You will, presumably, have already paid tax on any capital that you subscribe to an ISA through income taxation.

While the funds, consisting of capital and any accrued interest, remain within the ISA 'wrapper' they remain tax free (for as long as the ISA scheme lasts).

spike87

I thought I knew quite a bit about ISAs but this one has me a bit baffled, but here goes!

I have all my previous years subcriptions in an ISA with Halifax. In the 2009/2010 year I have only put £500 into this ISA. I am now transferring my account to another provider. I believe I am right when I say I can't put the rest of my allowance (£3,100) into my new account because I already subscribed £500 to my Halifax account this tax year. The only thing confusing me is that on the ISA transfer form I have to tick a box saying whether I want to subscribe to their cash ISA for the 2009/2010 tax year and each subsequent year or not. The problem is I don't want to subscribe for 2009/2010 year as I have already subscribed somewhere else, but I do want to subscribe for each subsequent year. Do I just tick the box but not put anymore money in until April 6th?

boobbby

spike87 wrote: »

I thought I knew quite a bit about ISAs but this one has me a bit baffled, but here goes!

I have all my previous years subcriptions in an ISA with Halifax. In the 2009/2010 year I have only put £500 into this ISA. I am now transferring my account to another provider. I believe I am right when I say I can't put the rest of my allowance (£3,100) into my new account because I already subscribed £500 to my Halifax account this tax year. The only thing confusing me is that on the ISA transfer form I have to tick a box saying whether I want to subscribe to their cash ISA for the 2009/2010 tax year and each subsequent year or not. The problem is I don't want to subscribe for 2009/2010 year as I have already subscribed somewhere else, but I do want to subscribe for each subsequent year. Do I just tick the box but not put anymore money in until April 6th?

Once your halifax ISA from previous years and this years £500 is transfered to your new provider you can if you wish add a further £2600 if it is before April 6th and the T&C allow. From April the 6th you can also invest a further £5100 into this new ISA or even another ISA with another provider.

MarkyMarkD

I think you mean £3,100, not £2,600.

pok_2

Hi everyone, I've done my research and know which ISA I want, but before that I need some help before I go ahead : )

I've already put 3600 in my ISA this year for tax year 09/10 already, my ISA now has a total of 7600. So now I'm just preparing for tax year 10/11.

I am thinking of opening a Alliance&Leicester Flexible ISA 3.5% and put 5100 of fresh fund in it next month. What I also want to do is open a Alliance&Leicester Fixed Rate ISA 3.5% as well, and transfer my accumulated old 7600 in it.

Can I do that? open 2 new ISA accounts with A&L, one with fresh fund, one just as transfer? Cheers guys

pok_2

pok wrote: »

Hi everyone, I've done my research and know which ISA I want, but before that I need some help before I go ahead : )

I've already put 3600 in my ISA this year for tax year 09/10 already, my ISA now has a total of 7600. So now I'm just preparing for tax year 10/11.

I am thinking of opening a Alliance&Leicester Flexible ISA 3.5% and put 5100 of fresh fund in it next month. What I also want to do is open a Alliance&Leicester Fixed Rate ISA 3.5% as well, and transfer my accumulated old 7600 in it.

Can I do that? open 2 new ISA accounts with A&L, one with fresh fund, one just as transfer? Cheers guys

Or as another option, can I open 2 new ISA accounts with A&L for tax year 10/11: one with fresh fund (3700), and one with transfer (7600) + fresh funds (1400)

Baldur

pok wrote: »

Can I do that? open 2 new ISA accounts with A&L, one with fresh fund, one just as transfer?

Yes - presumably you are talking about the 2-year FRISA for your transfer.

pok wrote: »

Or as another option, can I open 2 new ISA accounts with A&L for tax year 10/11: one with fresh fund (3700), and one with transfer (7600) + fresh funds (1400)

Dividing your (what will then be) current tax year allowance is not generally permitted, although some providers (Nationwide springs to mind) have been known to treat multiple ISA accounts as a single entity.

IMHO this is unlikely with A&L.

I would keep the plan simple, as per your first post. Trying to be too creative, knowing A&L/Santander customer service/efficiency, is likely to lead to tears - yours.