UK ISA Guide 2026/27: Types and Allowances

An ISA lets you save or invest without paying UK tax on the interest, income or gains. The GOV.UK ISA guide sets the 2026/27 limit at £20,000 across all your ISAs. The Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 scrapped the planned £12,000 cash ISA limit, so the whole £20,000 can go into cash ISAs at any age. Pick the type by what the money is for.

Tax year 2026/27. Updated for the Autumn Budget of 28 October 2026. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.

Each type has its own guide: cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs. The ISA allowances and rules guide covers the limits.

Table of Contents

What does an ISA save in tax?

GOV.UK says you do not pay tax on interest on cash in an ISA, or on income or capital gains from investments in an ISA. You do not need to declare any of it on a tax return. You must be 18 or over to open one, and children under 18 can have a Junior ISA instead.

Outside an ISA the same money can be taxed. For 2026/27 the Capital Gains Tax allowance is £3,000, the dividend allowance is £500, and the Personal Savings Allowance is £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate taxpayers and nil for additional rate taxpayers.

How much can I pay into ISAs in 2026/27?

Up to £20,000 in the tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April, in one account or split across several (GOV.UK). Since 6 April 2024 you can pay into more than one ISA of the same type (SI 2024/350). You can pay into only one Lifetime ISA, and its £4,000 limit counts towards the £20,000, so a full payment leaves £16,000 for other ISAs.

Unused allowance is lost. HMRC guidance for ISA managers says an investor who has not subscribed up to the limit in any year cannot carry the difference forward. The government has said the £20,000 limit stays until 5 April 2031 (Budget 2025 overview).

Which type of ISA suits which goal?

The right choice depends on your plans and how much risk you can accept. The table is general information.

If the money is for	ISA type	What GOV.UK says
Savings held as cash	Cash ISA	Can include bank and building society accounts and some National Savings and Investments products.
Investing for many years	Stocks and shares ISA	Can include company shares, funds, corporate bonds and government bonds.
A first home or later life	Lifetime ISA	Up to £4,000 a year until you are 50, with a 25% bonus. Open from 18 to 39.
A child’s savings	Junior ISA	For a child under 18 in the UK. The limit is £9,000 in 2026/27.
Lending through a platform	Innovative finance ISA	Peer-to-peer loans and crowdfunding debentures, among other things.

Source: GOV.UK ISA guide, Lifetime ISA and Junior ISA pages, read 27 October 2026.

What should I know about cash ISAs?

Interest is tax-free, and you can put all of your £20,000 allowance into cash ISAs at any age. Accounts differ in how you reach the money, so check the terms. GOV.UK says a flexible ISA lets you take cash out and put it back in the same tax year without using more allowance. See our guide to 1-year fixed-rate cash ISAs.

What should I know about stocks and shares ISAs?

Investments can lose value. The FSCS says the nature of investments means their value can go down as well as up. You cannot move shares you already own outside an ISA into one, unless they come from an employee share scheme (GOV.UK). Selling them first can trigger Capital Gains Tax above £3,000 of gains, so check the gain first. See also stocks and shares ISA charges over time.

How does a Lifetime ISA work?

You can pay in up to £4,000 a year until you are 50 and the government adds 25%, up to £1,000 a year (GOV.UK). You can withdraw without a charge only to buy your first home, from age 60, or if you are terminally ill. The home must cost £450,000 or less and be bought with a mortgage, at least 12 months after your first payment.

Any other withdrawal costs 25% of the whole pot, bonus included. GOV.UK’s example: £800 saved plus a £200 bonus makes £1,000, the charge is £250, and you receive £750, which is £50 less than you paid in. The Autumn Budget cut the charge for using a Lifetime ISA on a first home above £450,000 from 25% to 20% from 29 October 2026, and a First Time Buyer ISA will replace the Lifetime ISA from April 2029 (Which?).

How does a Junior ISA work?

The limit is £9,000 in 2026/27 (GOV.UK), and it sits outside the adult limit: the regulations define the £20,000 as covering accounts that are not Junior ISAs. A parent or guardian opens and manages it, but the money belongs to the child, who cannot take it out until 18. See Junior stocks and shares ISAs and Child Trust Funds.

What did the Autumn Budget 2026 change for ISAs?

Chancellor John Healey scrapped three rules that were due to start on 6 April 2027: the £12,000 cash ISA limit for people aged 64 or under, the ban on moving stocks and shares ISA money into cash ISAs for under-65s, and the 22% charge on interest on cash held in a stocks and shares ISA (Which?; MoneySavingExpert). Every adult can now pay up to £20,000 a year into cash ISAs, within the £20,000 overall limit.

Rule	Planned from April 2027	After the Budget
Cash ISA limit, aged 64 or under	£12,000 a year	£20,000 a year
Overall ISA limit	£20,000 a year	£20,000 a year
Moving stocks and shares ISA money into cash, under 65	Banned	Allowed
Interest on cash in a stocks and shares ISA	22% charge	Tax-free
Tax on savings interest outside an ISA	22%, 42% and 47%	24%, 44% and 49%

Sources: Which? Budget summary and MoneySavingExpert.

Savings interest outside an ISA is taxed at 24%, 44% and 49% from April 2027, two points above the rates already planned, so the tax-free wrapper is worth more than before. The government also plans a “starter ISA” to encourage first-time investors, but has announced no details.

The cash limit, the transfer ban and the 22% charge were set out in SI 2026/1018, made on 10 September 2026. We could not find legislation reversing it when we last checked, so confirm the current rules on the GOV.UK ISA page. The HMRC factsheet for those rules also described a limit on holding only money market funds in a stocks and shares ISA. Budget coverage does not say whether that limit was dropped too.

Can I take money out of an ISA or move it?

You can take money out of an ISA at any time without losing tax benefits, but check your terms for rules or charges (GOV.UK). To move one, ask the new provider for its ISA transfer form. If you withdraw the money yourself, you cannot put that part of your tax-free allowance back in. Cash ISA transfers should take no longer than 15 working days, and other transfers 30 calendar days. We explain moving cash to stocks and shares and stocks and shares to cash.

Is the money in an ISA protected if the provider fails?

The FSCS protects deposits up to £120,000 per eligible person, per bank, building society or credit union (since 1 December 2025). For investments, the FSCS investments page gives up to £85,000 per person, per firm, but not for poor performance.

Frequently asked questions

Can I open more than one ISA in a tax year?

Yes. Since 6 April 2024 you can pay into more than one ISA of the same type in a tax year, as long as the total stays within £20,000 (SI 2024/350; GOV.UK). You can pay into only one Lifetime ISA a year, up to £4,000.

What happens to my ISA allowance if I do not use it?

It is lost. HMRC guidance for ISA managers says an investor who has not subscribed up to the limit in any year cannot carry the difference forward into the next year. The 2026/27 tax year ends on 5 April 2027, and a new allowance starts on 6 April 2027.

Do I need to declare my ISA on a tax return?

No. GOV.UK says that if you complete a tax return, you do not need to declare any ISA interest, income or capital gains on it. You also do not pay tax on interest on cash in an ISA, or on income or capital gains from investments in an ISA.

Can I take money out of my ISA?

Usually yes. GOV.UK says you can take money out of an ISA at any time without losing tax benefits, but you should check your terms for rules or charges. A Lifetime ISA has different rules, and money in a Junior ISA stays put until the child turns 18, with limited exceptions.

Is there a special ISA for people over 60?

The GOV.UK ISA guide lists four types of ISA, and none is only for over-60s. A Lifetime ISA takes no payments after you turn 50, but you can withdraw from it at 60 without the 25% charge. The £20,000 cash ISA limit applies at every age, because the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026 scrapped the planned £12,000 limit for people under 65.