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How many ISAs can you have?

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If you’re looking to make the most of your tax-free allowance, you might want to consider adding a little variety to your savings. One way to do that is by opening more than one type of ISA. Different types of ISAs could help you achieve your goals in different ways.

How many ISAs can I have?

You can have as many ISAs as you like, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria for each type. However you can only pay into one Lifetime ISA in a single tax year (up to £4,000) and you can't pay more than your annual £20,000 ISA allowance overall.

Having more than one type of ISA could help you with different goals. For instance, if you’re thinking about buying your first home, and building some savings at the same time, you might have a Lifetime ISA and a Cash ISA.

Can I transfer money from one ISA to another?

Some ISAs will allow transfers in and some won’t; it completely depends on the account and the provider. One important thing to note is that an ISA transfer is different from withdrawing from one account and depositing in another. If you withdraw and then deposit, your funds will lose their tax-free status.

If you’re looking to transfer your savings into a Skipton ISA, take a look at our transfers page for more details.

ISA transfer explained

Can I inherit an ISA?

There is a difference between an ISA allowance and ISA funds. Anyone whose spouse or civil partner died on or after 3 December 2014 can inherit an extra ISA allowance based on how much they had saved in ISAs. This allows them to increase the amount they can save in ISAs.

Even if your spouse/civil partner left the funds in their ISA to someone else, you’ll still inherit the ISA allowance they’ve built up over the years.

You can find out more about inheriting ISA allowances or funds from an ISA on our Additional Permitted Subscriptions page, or on our bereavement support page, which explains what happens to savings accounts when someone has passed away.

What happens if I pay into more than one of the same type of ISA in a tax year?

From April 6 2024, apart from Lifetime ISAs you can pay into multiple ISAs of the same type in the same tax year.

It’s important to remember that your ISA allowance is a total of £20,000; you don’t get a new allowance for each account.

If you think you've paid into more than one Lifetime ISA in a single tax year, contact your ISA provider straight away. You should also get in touch with the HMRC to let them know.

More about ISAs

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