Make the most of each tax year
If you are over 18 and a UK resident; you can save up to £20,000 this tax year - whether that's in a cash ISA like this, a stocks and shares ISA, an innovative finance ISA*, a lifetime ISA* or any combination of these - without paying income or capital gains tax on the interest. Bear in mind you can only subscribe to one of each type of ISA each tax year.
*first direct do not currently offer an innovative finance ISA or a lifetime ISA.
Transferring ISAs
ISAs can be transferred to another ISA, either with the same provider or someone new (but remember not all cash ISAs accept transfers in and some providers may charge for transferring an ISA out). Here's what you need to know:
- when an ISA is transferred, any amount transferred from previous years' allowances aren't counted in that year's allowance
- previous years' allowances do not need to be transferred in full, they can be split between different providers
- you can transfer cash or stocks and shares ISA balances to us, held with other providers, from previous or current tax years
- however any amount being transferred from the current tax year must be transferred as a whole and will count towards that year's allowance
- when transferring a stocks and shares ISA, your stocks and shares ISA manager will, after receiving the instruction to transfer, sell your shares and make the transfer in cash - and this could mean a loss of income or interest whilst the transfer is being made.
If you already have a Cash ISA, but haven't subscribed to it in the last tax year, you won't be able to subscribe in the current tax year unless you reactivate it. To reactivate your ISA and make further subscriptions, please download the Cash ISA reactivation form.
The value of the tax benefits will depend on your individual circumstances and could change in the future.