How Much Can I put Into a Cash ISA?
ISAs are a tax-free way for Britons to save their pennies and gain a bit of interest, up to a yearly limit. The amount you can put into a Cash ISA is dependent on the tax allowance for that year, and how much you've already put into other kinds of ISAs.
The year is marching on and the end of the tax year is looming round the corner – which means that time is running out to open a Cash ISA for this tax year.
ISAs are a way to put your savings in a tax-free cocoon – as you won’t be charged tax on the interest returns on this account.
- The amount you can put into any ISA each year may change depending on the government limit. The limit runs from tax year to tax year – so the year that began on April 6th 2019, will end on April 5th 2020.
- This hasn’t changed from the allowance for 2018/2019, and we don’t yet know what the limit will be for tax year 2020/2021.
- The current limit for tax year 2019/2020 is £20,000 per year.
- This ceiling is applied to all ISAs – you can put a total of £20,000 into ISA accounts this year.
- Your tax allowance does not roll over into next year – if you don’t use it, then you lose it for this year.
So, for example...
Let’s say that you have £20,000 that you want to put into an ISA. You are sitting by your computer reading through the options. You have two options:
- You can put the whole £20,000 into a Cash ISA account. This will have a lower interest rate but there are more flexible options available with Cash ISAs which enable you to access your funds if need be.
- You can put some of your £20,000 into a Cash ISA, and some into another ISA. For example, you could split your money into £4000 into a Lifetime ISA, £10,000 into your Cash ISA and £6000 into an investment ISA
People often ask if they can split their money between different ISAs – the answer is yes! But you cannot exceed the ceiling for the total amount for the tax year. You can still put money into a Cash ISA if you put some into a Stocks and Shares ISA, as long as the total amount you are putting into ISAs does not exceed £20,000 per tax year.
There are different kinds of Cash ISAs (such Instant Access/Fixed Rate Cash ISAs) so you can choose the one which suits you the best. But you are limited to opening only one Cash ISA per year. You can transfer to another Cash ISA provider if you wish to, which we have a recent blog on.
Interest rates on Cash ISAs can often be quite low, so if you don’t mind locking your money away and want to gain a higher interest rate then a Stocks and Shares ISA may be more suited to your needs.