Old Halifax ISA's + Halifax Help To Buy ISA - bit confused

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ImNoExpert
ImNoExpert Posts: 60 Forumite
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in ISAs & tax-free savings
Hello all,

I've tried searching other threads but I'm still in a bit of a head spin, I asked the Halifax about my ISA's, but the answer I got is one I'd like to have confirmed.

In years past I've held bog standard Halifax ISA's, and a couple of years ago I merged them in to one big pot at a local branch, but have since left this dormant (with poor rates of interest) as I turned my focus to the Help To Buy ISA.

At the same time as above I opened a Halifax Help to Buy ISA, and have continued to pay in the £200 max amount each month up to this point, believing that, despite the larger ISA limits available, I was only allowed to pay in to one ISA at a time, and only up to £200 a month into the Help To Buy ISA.

I went into a branch to ask if I could either top-up my old ISA, or start a new one in this new tax year, while continuing to pay in to my Help To Buy ISA, and was told I could not, as my Help To Buy ISA was the only one I could contribute to.

Is this correct? Can I not pay in a lump sum into my old ISA? Does this ISA have to remain at its current amount without being topped up?

I intend on moving both to a provider with a better rate, but don't want to accidentally lose the ISA status of either.

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  • Aidanmc
    Aidanmc Posts: 772 Forumite
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    Nationwide and others do a 'split Isa' where you have a HTB Isa and a regular cash isa in the one wrapper. Maybe this is an option.
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 23,424 Forumite
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    ImNoExpert wrote: »
    I went into a branch to ask if I could either top-up my old ISA, or start a new one in this new tax year, while continuing to pay in to my Help To Buy ISA, and was told I could not, as my Help To Buy ISA was the only one I could contribute to.

    Is this correct? Can I not pay in a lump sum into my old ISA? Does this ISA have to remain at its current amount without being topped up?

    I intend on moving both to a provider with a better rate, but don't want to accidentally lose the ISA status of either.
    You have been given correct information. Halifax reports its ISAs to HMRC separately, so you can only pay into one of its cash ISAs per tax year. You can't top up your other cash ISA in the same tax year you pay into your HTB ISA.

    As Aidanmc says, transferring to Nationwide would be an option as they treat their range of ISA products as one overall account, allowing you to pay into more than one per tax year. I'm not aware of any other providers offering a decent HTB ISA that allow this.

    If you follow the correct transfer process (using the new provider's ISA transfer form), then you'll retain ISA status and be able to pick up contributions where you left off.
  • Ed-1
    Ed-1 Posts: 3,903 Forumite
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    ImNoExpert wrote: »
    Hello all,

    I've tried searching other threads but I'm still in a bit of a head spin, I asked the Halifax about my ISA's, but the answer I got is one I'd like to have confirmed.

    In years past I've held bog standard Halifax ISA's, and a couple of years ago I merged them in to one big pot at a local branch, but have since left this dormant (with poor rates of interest) as I turned my focus to the Help To Buy ISA.

    At the same time as above I opened a Halifax Help to Buy ISA, and have continued to pay in the £200 max amount each month up to this point, believing that, despite the larger ISA limits available, I was only allowed to pay in to one ISA at a time, and only up to £200 a month into the Help To Buy ISA.

    I went into a branch to ask if I could either top-up my old ISA, or start a new one in this new tax year, while continuing to pay in to my Help To Buy ISA, and was told I could not, as my Help To Buy ISA was the only one I could contribute to.

    Is this correct? Can I not pay in a lump sum into my old ISA? Does this ISA have to remain at its current amount without being topped up?

    I intend on moving both to a provider with a better rate, but don't want to accidentally lose the ISA status of either.

    You can transfer money already in a cash ISA to another ISA but you can't pay new money into another cash ISA in the same year you pay new money into the Help to Buy ISA (as this is also a cash ISA).
  • Friday1989
    Friday1989 Posts: 147 Forumite
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    You could transfer your Help to Buy ISA to a Lifetime ISA which will up the maximum government bonus from £600 to £1000 a year because the maximum you can put into a LISA is £4000 a year compared to £2400 a year in a HTB ISA.
    Mortgage at 30: £204,750  (08/2020)
    Current mortgage: £154,369 (02/2024)
    Goal: £145,000 by 02/2025
    End goal: Mortgage free asap! 
  • ImNoExpert
    ImNoExpert Posts: 60 Forumite
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    Thank you for the replies everyone, the split ISA concept isn't one I had thought about, so I'll have a look at Nationwide's offerings.

    I've considered the LISA conversion as well, but as I'm confident I'll be making official use of my HTB ISA this year or next year, I've thought about holding back and creating a retirement LISA once I'd closed my HTB.

    Thank you again everyone :)
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