2019/20 ISA allowance – use it or lose it

Maximise your wealth creation – don’t miss the deadline

Whatever you’re putting money aside for, there’s likely to be a role for Individual Saving Accounts, or ‘ISAs’. An ISA is a way of holding savings or investments without paying personal tax on interest received or on the growth of your investment.

Whether you’re a novice or an experienced saver, we can help you get the most from your 2019/20 ISA allowance.

Tax year deadline is 5 April 2020
Each year, you have an ISA allowance which, if fully utilised, can have a big impact over time. ISA allowances can’t be rolled over to the next tax year. If you don’t use your 2019/20 ISA allowance by 5 April 2020, it’ll be gone for good. For the 2019/20 tax year, the ISA allowance is £20,000.

You can split the ISA allowance across different types of ISA, but you can only add money to one ISA of each type in a tax year.

What are your ISA options?
Cash ISA – a type of savings account, where any interest received is tax-free.
Stocks & Shares ISA – a ‘wrapper’ for investments, where any investment growth is tax-efficient.
Innovative Finance ISA – a ‘wrapper’ specifically for peer-to-peer investments, where any interest received is tax-efficient.
Help to Buy ISA – a regular savings Cash ISA, where the Government will add up to £3,000 if you have contributed £12,000 yourself (these closed to new savers on 30 November 2019).

Lifetime ISA – a type of Cash or Stocks & Shares ISA available to the under 40s since 6 April 2017, designed to help people save for their first home or their retirement. Any interest received or investment growth is tax-efficient. Savings of up to £4,000 per year will be matched by a contribution of up to £1,000 from the Government; any savings above that amount will not receive any additional bonus. You can continue paying into a Lifetime ISA until you are 50.
Junior ISA – a type of Cash ISA where parents can save up to £4,368 per year tax-efficiently for the child. The child gains access to the money at the age of 16, and the account becomes a standard cash ISA at the age of 18
Inheritance ISA – a Cash ISA specifically for widows, widowers or bereaved civil partners, where the deceased’s ISA can be transferred across into the surviving partner’s name, in addition to their own annual allowance.