Compare Santander ISAs

Santander ISAs

If you’re looking for a way to earn tax free interest on your savings you may be wondering is a Santander ISA is the right plan for you. Santander has a selection of; Cash ISA’s and Stocks and Shares ISAs. Before you decide however you can check out our comparison table above to view a selection of the top, best buy individual savings accounts from different providers:

Types of ISA

There are two chief types of ISA; Cash and Stocks & shares ISA’s under the rules of ISA’s you are allowed to have one of each type for each tax year providing you breakdown your maximum allowance so between the two so as not to exceed it.

Cash Individual Savings Account:

A Cash ISA works fairly similarly to any other savings account, in that you deposit money into the account, which tax-free interest will accrue on and be paid on a set date, this may be on the anniversary of the account being opened, or at another set time. You are not allowed to pay in more than your annual maximum allowance, which is an amount that changes each year. Within the bracket of Cash ISA they can be broken down into further categories for example ‘instant access ISA’s’ which allow you instant access to your savings if you want to make a withdrawal, there are also easy access ISA’s which allow some operations for early withdrawal and ‘Fixed Rate ISA’s’ which work under the understanding that a saver will tie up their money for a set period of time, as a general rule the less access an ISA grants you to your money the better the interest rate it will offer you. Unlike stocks & shares ISAs with a cash option there is no investment risk and your capital is protected under the government backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Stocks & Shares Individual Savings Account:

A stocks and shares ISA is considerably different to a cash ISA. They offer the potential to yield higher earnings than cash ISAs, but your savings are however at risk. They give you the option to put your money into a range of different investments such as; shares, funds, corporate bonds and gilts. You can choose what you would like to invest in. In general Stocks and shares ISA’s are intended to be invested in for between 5 and 10 years. Stocks and shares ISA’s are considered a ‘tax efficient’ way to save rather than tax free. This is because while you get a tax-free allowance for capital gains and interest payments you are still required to pay tax on any dividend income. As the value of your investments can go up as well as down your capital is at risk and you can get back less than what you put in.

Junior ISAs

Junior ISA’s are a tax free savings account for people aged less than 18 years old. You can open a junior ISA for your child if you have parental responsibility, or savers aged between 16 and 18 can open a junior ISA by themselves. No withdrawals or closures are allowed until the child’s 18th birthday.

ISA Transfers

As shopping around with ISA’s to try and get the best interest rates is important, it is also good to consider transferring your ISA at any time to try and insure you get the most out of it. Transferring an ISA can also be a good way to bring your money together to make it easier to manage. All cash ISAs have to allow you to transfer your savings to any other provider but they may impose a penalty for doing so. Providers do not have to allow you to transfer in however. You are allowed to transfer money between a cash ISA and a stocks & shares ISA.

When looking into an ISA transfer you should thoroughly shop around to compare the market and find the best deal. If transferring your ISA would mean you incurred a penalty it is a good idea to work out if you would actually earn more interest staying with your current arrangement.