How to transfer an ISA

Maybe you want to consolidate your accounts, reduce the fees you pay, switch to a different type of ISA, or you prefer one platform over another. Transferring your ISA is easy, and you can do it at any time. Better yet, transferring your ISA doesn’t affect your annual ISA allowance.

How do ISA transfers work?

ISA transfers are straightforward and don’t involve much on your part. It’s a way to move the cash savings or investments you hold in an ISA to another provider. All you need to do is request a transfer with your new provider and they should take care of the rest.

You can transfer to the same type of ISA, for example from one Stocks and Shares ISA to another, or you can switch to a different ISA type. Let’s say from a Cash ISA to a Stocks and Shares ISA.

The ISA rules have changed as of 6 April 2024. When moving money from current or previous tax years, you can now choose to move all or part of your ISA savings. You no longer need to do a full transfer to move current year subscriptions.

Just remember one of the most important ISA transfer rules; make sure that you ask your new provider to do the transfer. Don’t withdraw the money from your old ISA and deposit it in the new one. This will count as using your ISA allowance again and you might not be able to reverse it.

How much of my ISA can I transfer?

Your ISA allowance isn’t affected by transferring, so the value of your ISA doesn’t matter. There’s no limit on how much of your ISA you can transfer to a Stocks and Shares ISA.

Just remember that as of 6 April 2024 the ISA rules have changed. You no longer have to complete a full transfer to move contributions made in the current tax year. You can request a full or partial transfer, no matter which tax year you contributed.

How long does it take to transfer an ISA?

Transferring an ISA doesn’t take long. If there aren’t any issues, the government says that transferring cash between ISAs shouldn’t take more than 15 working days, and stock shouldn’t take more than 30 calendar days. But, there are lots of factors that can impact a transfer so these are only guidelines, not guarantees.

Most providers usually say it can take between 4 to 6 weeks, but it can often be sooner so check with your new provider.

How to switch ISA accounts for non-UK residents

If you’re no longer a UK resident, you won’t be able to open any new ISA’s, but you can still switch ISA accounts between any that you already have open.

You can’t contribute to them anymore or add any new money to your ISAs, but you can keep them open to continue benefiting from UK tax relief. 

If you later move back to the UK, you’ll be able to continue contributing to them again – up to your usual ISA allowance limit.

When is the best time to transfer an ISA?

You can transfer an ISA at any time in the tax year, and there isn’t really a best time to do it. Although it’s good to review all your finances every year, so it makes sense to consider transferring then. 

If you’ve come into money and want to put it into an ISA, contribute it before the Tax Year End so you don’t waste any of your allowance. You can then add more money on the other side of the tax year when your allowance resets.