How much can I put in an ISA?

For the current tax year, the maximum you can save in an ISA account is £20,000.

When it comes to your ISA allowance, you can choose, if you want, to invest all your savings in one type of ISA, or you can choose to split the allowance between different ISA types.

However, remember if you do choose to split your savings across the different ISA types, you can’t invest more than a total of £20,000 per tax year.

Example of splitting your ISA allowance

ISA account types and how they affect your ISA allowance

There are four main ISA types, each with its own features:

Junior ISA allowance: What you need to know

A Junior ISA is a savings account for children under 18, and it comes with its own annual allowance. For the current tax year it’s £9,000.

This allowance is separate from the adult £20,000 ISA allowance. So, if you have parental responsibility for a child under 18 and wanting to save for their future, what you put into the Junior ISA won’t affect how much you can save in your own adult ISA.

In short:

• You can save up to £9,000 in a Junior ISA for each child.
• You can also save up to £20,000 in your own ISA.
• One doesn’t reduce the other - they’re completely separate ISA allowances.

How it works:

• Save up to maximum of £9,000 for the current tax year to earn tax-free interest for under-18s.
• A person with parental responsibility of the child manages this account.
• Any money saved in this account will be locked away until your child’s 18th birthday, which then will become their cash.
• After the child’s 18th birthday, the account will then become a standard ISA in the child’s name.

Who it's best for:

• If you want to save for your child’s future in a tax-efficient way.

ISA limit rules you need to know

To stay within ISA rules and make the most of your savings:

• You can’t exceed the £20,000 ISA limit of new ISA funds across all ISA types in a tax year.
• The maximum you can put into a Lifetime ISA in a tax year is £4,000. This counts towards your £20,000 ISA allowance limit.
• You can’t put more than £9,000 in a Junior ISA account in a tax year. Anything you do deposit into a Junior ISA contributes towards the junior annual ISA allowance of £9,000. This doesn’t contribute towards your own £20,000 ISA allowance. 
• You can transfer ISAs from previous years without it affecting your current year’s allowance (if the provider accepts transfers in or out). But you can’t transfer the money yourself as you’d lose your tax-free status. Your ISA provider will move your money for you instead. Speak to your ISA provider before transferring ISAs to make sure you follow the ISA transfer process.
• Due to the cash ISA rules changing in April 2024, some providers now allow you to open and pay into more than one cash ISA in the same tax year. Check with your ISA provider.
• You can only open and contribute to one stocks and shares ISA, one innovative finance ISA, and one Lifetime ISA per tax year.
• Withdrawing money from an ISA does not reset your allowance unless you have a flexible ISA, which allows you to withdraw and replace funds in the same tax year.

Frequently asked questions

Please do not use this guide as advice, you’ll need to consider and make your own decisions. If you have any further questions, we recommend seeking legal and/or financial advice. Cash ISAs are available to individuals ages 18 or over who are a resident in the UK for tax purposes. Deposits in any tax year are subject to the limits set by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and may therefore be subject to change.