Help to Buy ISA guide

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  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 23,072
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    Darkky wrote: »
    - in case i change my mind later, can i transfer it to a regular cash ISA and get the remaining allowance for the current tax year (less what i have already paid into the HTB of course)?
    Yes
    - if i decide to close the HTB (or transfer it elsewhere for that matter) before the yearly interest payment is due, will i get the partial interest accrued, i.e. if i open it on 1 April and close it on 1 June will i get 2 months interest? I guess this might be provider specific, but cannot find it anywhere in Halifax's T&C
    Accrued interest will always be paid if the account is closed or transferred, unless there is a specific interest penalty for early closure (in the case of a fixed term or notice account).
    - can the £1000 initial deposit be paid together with the first month's £200 as one lump sum payment of £1200 and only subsequent top ups to be paid via a standing order, or even the first £200 have to be?
    It depends on the provider. I believe Halifax require the £1000 lump sum to be paid separately and the £200 to be paid by standing order.
  • First of all, thank you for such a detailed and informative articles which has ptoven very useful!

    I am a UK citizen and resident and have had my account open since launch. My girlfriend on the other hand, has been a resident in the UK for 7 years, but is not a UK citizen. She is from outside the EEA.

    We have looked extensively on the government website, many providers' websites and elsewhere such as the article here, and are unable to conclude whether or not she would be eligible to open an account. Almost every source of information makes reference to UK residency being a must, but no mention is made to citizenship.

    Would we be correct to assume that she would be eligible? Is there any source of information that confirms this? Our concerns primarily lie with not wanting to violate the conditions of her visa, and at the same time we obviously don't want to be missing out on a fairly significant amount of money that she may well be eligible for.

    Thank you in advance to anybody who can offer any guidance!
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597
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    If she's been in the UK for 7 years, she is almost certainly considered a resident for tax purposes, and anyone resident in the UK for tax purposes can pay into an ISA. If in doubt, she should contact the HMRC.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/individual-savings-accounts-isa-enquiries
  • Thanks for such a quick reply.

    I can see I didn't word my query very well! I agree that she is eligible to open an ISA and has ISAs in the past, what I am struggling to track down is whether or not she would be eligible for the government bonus from the HTB ISA. I assume this is something that HMRC do not have involvement in?
  • gj6n68
    gj6n68 Posts: 1 Newbie
    Hello,


    I read almost till page 12 and couldn't find any insight on when can the bonus be claimed.


    I am in a similar situation as one more person on this forum.


    We are due completion in last week of March, but we won't have minimum balance of £1600in our ISA accounts to be able to claim bonus before 2nd April.


    Does anyone know if our solicitor can claim the bonus after completion ? That is they apply for bonus after 2nd April, though we would have completed the transaction before 2nd April ?


    Any help would be much appreciated.


    Thanks
    GJ
  • Please can someone help i am at the final stages of the help to buy isa and my solisiter is asking for a closure letter and the bank is telling me i cant have one? And with this its stopping me from moving in to my new home. I have been trying to get it every day since the 1st of march im confused to the fact that the people in the bank dont know what they are doing.
  • redux
    redux Posts: 22,976
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    masonic wrote: »
    It depends on the provider. I believe Halifax require the £1000 lump sum to be paid separately and the £200 to be paid by standing order.

    Yes, but they seem to allow the £1000 the first £200 and possibly the second to be paid as a transfer from another account (open 15th Dec transfers 15th Dec and 4th Jan for me).

    I imagine it's to do with still being within 30 days of opening.

    After that only standing order though.
  • Youngeman
    Youngeman Posts: 1 Newbie
    edited 10 March 2016 at 12:28PM
    Good afternoon

    Does anyone know what the maximum deposit is to open a help to buy ISA please?

    I have £10,000 in a savings account that could be put in but most of the correspondence talks about a minimum of £1,000 + £200 first month installment = £1,200 and teh 'Bonus@ is only paid after 3 months when the £1,600 has been reached

    Thanks
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 30,412
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    Youngeman wrote: »
    Does anyone know what the maximum deposit is to open a help to buy ISA please?

    I have £10,000 in a savings account that could be put in but most of the correspondence talks about a minimum of £1,000 + £200 first month installment = £1,200 and teh 'Bonus@ is only paid after 3 months when the £1,600 has been reached
    In which case most of the correspondence is incorrect! It's a maximum of £200 per month plus a maximum of £1000 as a one-off in the first month.

    Refer to https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/ for the official version in summary form, or https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/documents/2015/12/scheme-rules.pdf for the full version.
  • Situation: I have one maxed out cash ISA opened for tax year 2015/16. My partner has one cash 8000 ISA opened for tax year 2015/16.
    We are looking to transfer both ISAs to a "Split-ISA" provider.
    If we transfer before the 16th-24th March, the new ISAs will still be considered as 2015/16 Cash and Help To Buy ISAs.

    - Is my partner allowed to contribute to the 2015/16 Split 8000 Cash ISA post 6th April 2016?
    - Are we both able to open a Cash ISA for new tax year 2016/17 post 6 April 2016, as well as both having a Cash & HTB ISA registered in 2015/16?

    Many thanks in advance to anyone who can advise.
    Lauren
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