If I transferred my Cash Isa, can I still invest in a new one in this tax year?
One of our experts answers a reader's question.
25th January 2018 14:56
by Ruth Jackson from interactive investor
Q
“I had a Cash individual savings account (Isa) for the 2016/17 tax year and I transferred it to another Cash Isa for the 2017/18 tax year. Can I still invest in a Cash Isa for the 2017/18 tax year? ”
From: AT/Inverness
A
The key is how you moved the money from your 2016/17 Isa to your 2017/18 Isa.
Provided you did this via a formal Isa transfer – this means you opened a Cash Isa and asked your new provider to move the contents of your old Isa into the new account – then you still have your 2017/18 Isa allowance to play with. But if you withdrew the cash and paid it into a new Cash Isa, then it will have lost its Isa status when you withdrew it and will count towards this year’s allowance. I will assume you did your Isa transfer through the proper channels, so you won’t have used up any of this year’s Isa allowance.
- Savers are ditching Cash Isas: Here are three reasons why
You can open one Cash Isa per tax year. But transferring money from previous year’s Cash Isas doesn’t count as opening a new Cash Isa if you don’t pay in any new money. So, if you didn’t pay any extra cash into the Isa you transferred your 2016/17 Isa to, you can open a Cash Isa for this tax year. You have until 5 April 2018 to open it and pay in up to £20,000.
- Read more on: Stocks & Shares ISAs | ISA Investment Ideas | Transferring a Stocks & Shares ISA
| Best Cash Isas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Account type | Bank | Interest rate | Notes |
| Easy Access Cash Isa (Issue 21) | Virgin Money | 1.21% AER | Minimum balance £1 |
| Fixed one-year bond | Post Office Money | 1.45% AER | Minimum deposit £500 |
| Fixed three-year bond | Charter Savings Bank | 1.86% AER | Minimum deposit £1,000 |
| Fixed five-year bond | Charter Savings Bank | 2.11% AER | Minimum deposit £1,000 |
Source: Moneywise, 25 January 2018.
Ruth Jackson is a personal finance journalist. Find out who our experts are on the Ask the Experts homepage.
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Moneywise, which ceased publication in August 2020.
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