Compare Newcastle Building Society ISAs

Who are Newcastle Building Society?

Newcastle Building Society are the most prominent building society in the North East of England and currently operate more branches in the region than any other building society.

With over 150 years of history behind them, they provide their customers with mortgage loans, savings accounts, insurance products and financial advice.

Newcastle Building Society is owned by its members, so they don’t have shareholders to appease like banks do.

Among the range of savings accounts they offer to their customers are a variety of fixed and variable rate Cash ISA accounts.

What is an ISA account?

ISA accounts are tax-efficient savings accounts.

In a standard savings account, you pay tax on any interest, dividends and capital gains you make within your portfolio.

Depending on your other sources of income, this could take a considerable chuck out of your savings profits. Investing in an ISA completely protects you from these taxes.

The government sets a limit each year on how much you can put into an ISA. This is called your annual ISA allowance.

For the current tax year, the annual ISA allowance is £20,000, so you can’t add more than this amount to your ISA account.

What type of ISA is a Newcastle Building Society ISA?

Newcastle Building Society offer two main types of ISA accounts to investors: Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs.

Stocks and Shares ISAs invest your money directly into the stock market through shares, funds and other investment vehicles. They have high potential for returns, but markets can go down as well as up so you could lose money.

Cash ISAs earn a fixed or variable interest rate on your balance, and your money is always kept as cash so it can’t lose value. You’ll always get back at least what you put in, but interest rates are low compared to the potential returns you could get in the stock market.

Newcastle Building Society currently only offer Cash ISA products and don’t do a Stocks and Shares ISA product.

What types of Cash ISA do Newcastle Building Society offer?

Newcastle Building Society offer a range of Cash ISAs that vary based on the following factors:

Accessibility – e.g., how often you can access your money or how long your fixed term of investment is.

Interest rates – fixed or variable rates are available, and generally the less access you have for withdrawals, the higher your interest rates.

Fixed or Variable Interest Rate Cash ISAs?

Newcastle BS’s fixed-interest Cash ISAs have a fixed term of investment. The lengths of term range from 1 to 5 years, and generally the longer term you commit to, the higher interest rates you receive.

However, if you withdraw from your Cash ISA before the end of your fixed term you will either be charged, or lose a portion of the interest you’ve earned so far.

Newcastle BS’s variable-rate ISAs are great for investors that need extra flexibility for accessing their money. Their variable-rate accounts differ based on the amount and frequency of withdrawals you can make.

The more access you have to your Cash ISA, the lower the interest rates, so you should keep in mind that greater flexibility comes at a cost.

How do I open a Newcastle Building Society ISA?

Once you’ve decided on the right ISA for you, you can open an account either online or in branch.

The quickest way to set up your account is online via the website.

You’ll need to create an account with a password, provide some basic information including your National Insurance Number, and make a contribution to open your ISA.

Who can open a Newcastle Building Society ISA?

Some of Newcastle BS’s ISAs are only available to customers living in the NE of England. Some of their ISAs are available to all UK customers, but you’ll need to check before you open your account.

You also need to be at least 16 years old and a resident in the UK to open any of their Cash ISAs.

What are the ISA rules?

Before opening an ISA, it’s important to know how you can and cannot use them to make sure you don’t break the rules.

Here’s a list of the most important ISA rules to be aware of:

• The current ISA allowance is £20,000 so you can’t contribute more than this amount to an ISA in any one year.
• Your ISA allowance is split between Cash and Stocks and Shares ISAs - you can split your £20,000 between the two types.
• You can’t add money to more than one Cash ISA in the same tax year. If you’ve already opened or contributed to one this year, you can’t open another until the 6th of April.
• You can transfer old ISAs to your new ISA account and it won’t count towards your ISA allowance – just complete an ISA transfer form with your new provider.
• Your ISA allowance doesn't roll over - if you don’t use it, you lose it.
• Your ISA allowance refreshes on the 6th of April each year so you can add an extra lump sum from this date.