Help to Buy ISA guide

iMarkeh wrote: »

Question: I have spoken to a few others with H2B Isas and they have said that while the bank interest still shows up in the account, you can not take it out. If you choose to withdraw money from the account, you can only take out the amount you have put in. Is this right or does the 11p interest belong to me to take out whenever I please? I did speak to Barclays and they weren't helpful on the matter.

It's an easy-access account, from which you can withdraw what you like when you like - apart from anything else, how could they differentiate between what you'd paid in and what they've added in interest (unless you withdrew the lot)?

You could obviously challenge your acquaintances to put up some proof of the imaginary constraint that they refer to (they won't be able to), but in any case, why would you want to withdraw money from a generous account like this anyway, other than as a last resort?

Does anyone know whether you can keep paying into an H2B isa if you inherit property? I know you couldn't have opened the account if you already had, but I haven't been able to find any info on what effect a later inheritance has, if any.

The person I'm asking for never had any intention of asking for the government (taxpayer) bonus btw. They just use it - as advised by Martin - as a good savings account.

woodface7 wrote: »

Does anyone know whether you can keep paying into an H2B isa if you inherit property? I know you couldn't have opened the account if you already had, but I haven't been able to find any info on what effect a later inheritance has, if any.

The person I'm asking for never had any intention of asking for the government (taxpayer) bonus btw. They just use it - as advised by Martin - as a good savings account.

They will be asked periodically to check they are still eligible, and each new tax year they would need to make a declaration when they made their first deposit of the tax year. So, no, they wouldn't be able to continue using the account for very long after becoming ineligible, unless they were willing to make a fraudulent declaration to their bank.

TWennismore wrote: »

I will max out my HTB ISA next tax year. I am currently with Halifax with HTB ISA with an interest rate of 2.25% which is above the current inlfation rate 1.5%. I am wondering whatever I will get interest paid for the amount exceeding £12,000 (I think you can still pay into HTB ISA even though it reaches £12,000?) since 2.25% is a good interest rate compared to all the other saving rates.
I would really appreciate if someone can answer my question with CONFIDENCE.

The maximum bonus you can receive on a HTB ISA is £3,000. There is no maximum balance or balance above which no interest is earned.

eskbanker wrote: »

While masonic is a knowledgeable and reliable regular poster, surely if you're looking for the definitive answer (rather than that from an anonymous stranger on the internet, however reputable) then you'll be looking at the published product Ts & Cs to see if there's any mention of interest being paid differently above a certain threshold?

Alternatively ask the people who can confirm the answer - the Halifax.

As their website makes clear they currently pay the same interest on balances of £1 or higher on their HTB isa - and there is no cap of £12,000 above which interest isn't payable.

£12k is the maximum balance on which a 25% government bonus is payable following a house purchase - but there is nothing to stop anyone continuing to pay £200 in a month until November 2029 and accruing interest from their bank or BS in full on the whole sum as long as they still meet the first time buyer criteria.

https://www.halifax.co.uk/isas/cash-isas/help-to-buy-isa/