Income ISAs

What is an income ISA?

An income ISA is a way of using your ISA allowance that aims to provide you with a regular tax-efficient income payment on your investment or savings. Income may be paid on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis, so you can choose an option to suit your savings goals.

Every eligible person has an ISA allowance. You are permitted to invest all or part of this amount in an investment ISA, all in a cash ISA, or some in a cash ISA and the remainder in stocks and shares.

A stocks and shares income ISA might be for you if…

• You want to use your ISA allowance to maximize your potential for investment returns, especially at this time of low interest rates. The money you invest in an income ISA offers tangible tax savings. You pay just 10% tax on any income from your investments, regardless of your tax bracket.
• You have substantial savings - i.e. in excess of £10,000 - to transfer into the ISA. Capital gains are 100% tax-free, which is a real advantage if you want to hold shares and increase your ISA amount over the long term.
• You're looking to invest for the medium to long term - investment-based accounts generally perform better over time than cash-based accounts, but to achieve this it's likely you'll need to leave your money untouched for at least a minimum period of one year.
• You're saving with your retirement in mind. Many people use their yearly ISA allowance to invest in shares that can then be sold in the future to buy income funds - the result of which can be a tax-free income during retirement. In fact, recent data shows that savers are now putting more money into ISAs than into pension schemes.

A cash income ISA might be for you if…

• You want a completely tax-free savings account - you pay no tax at all on the interest you earn in a cash-based income ISA.
• You're not confident about investing in stocks and shares and want to avoid some of the potential issues, such as fluctuating market.
• You want to combine a straightforward, tax-free cash savings account with the benefit of regular income payments.

An income ISA might not suit you if…

• You're only saving for a short-term goal, such as a holiday. Because the income on your ISA pays out at regular intervals - for example, once a year - you may miss out on the benefits of this if you withdraw earlier. If you do decide to use an income ISA for a short-term savings goal, make sure you choose one that pays out income at more frequent intervals, such as once every quarter.
• Your first priority is to establish an emergency fund that you can easily access if something unexpected occurs. In this case, an instant access cash ISA might be more suited to your requirements.

Whatever kind of ISA you are interested in, as there are a wide range of products, it is worth shopping around to try and find the one that fits your specific needs best. You can view a selection of different kinds of ISAs by using the comparison tables on this website.