Guide to ISAs

Do you need instant access to your money?

Our Instant Cash ISA lets you access your money at any time, so you can make withdrawals when you need it. Terms, conditions and ISA rules apply.

Do you need flexible access to your money?

With a flexible cash ISA, you can enjoy a fixed interest rate for a set period with the flexibility to access some of your money during the term if you need to. Terms, conditions and ISA rules apply.

Are you prepared to risk losing money for the chance of higher returns?

If you’re prepared to hold investments for a longer time, and accept that you may get back less than you invest, you might want to consider an investment ISA. Also known as a Stocks and Shares ISA,  it could help you buy, hold and sell a wide range of investments such as funds, shares and bonds. You can pick your own investments, or go with our Ready-made Investments which range from low to higher risk.

Investment ISAs can also help you grow your money in a tax-efficient way, as you won’t need to pay income tax or capital gains tax on any returns you make from your investments.

Tax rules can change and their effects on you will depend on your own circumstances. Please seek independent advice if you’re unsure about investing. Terms, conditions and ISA rules apply. Investments can fall as well as rise, so you might not get back what you invest.

For all our cash  ISAs (except Help to Buy: ISA ), any money you withdraw within a tax year can be replaced during the same tax year without counting towards your annual ISA allowance. This is known as ISA flexibility.

For example, if you pay in £10,000 to your ISA on 6 April 2024, your remaining allowance for the 2024/2025 tax year will be £10,000. If you then withdrew £5,000 from this ISA on 1 June 2024, your remaining 2024/2025 ISA allowance would be £15,000.

Remember that money you’ve withdrawn needs to be replaced in the same ISA in the same tax year. If you don’t replace the money within the same tax year, it’ll count towards your annual ISA allowance in the following tax year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

If you’d like to transfer your ISA to a new provider and you’ve withdrawn previous years’ payments from your ISA, any withdrawals that haven’t been replaced before the transfer will count towards your annual ISA allowance for the current tax year.

If you have more than one ISA and you’d like to combine them or transfer your money into a new ISA, you’ll need to use the ISA transfer service. If you transfer from a Lifetime ISA, it’ll count as a withdrawal from that account type and a 25% government charge will apply to the amount you withdraw.

Using the ISA transfer service means previous years’ savings you transfer won’t count towards your current annual allowance.

You can transfer between all types of ISA (subject to ISA terms and conditions and the ISA rules). You can choose whether you want to transfer all or part of the balance of your existing ISA.

At the moment, we can’t do partial transfers of any money you’ve paid in during the current tax year. If you’ve already paid into an ISA in the current tax year, you’ll need to transfer out all the money you’ve paid in the current tax year. However, you can choose to transfer all or part of the money you’ve paid in previous years. 

Keep in mind that when transferring to a Help to Buy ISA, you’ll only be able to transfer up to £200 per calendar month due to the monthly Help to Buy ISA limits. 

Before you transfer, make sure you’re aware of any transfer fees from your current provider, other costs that you might get, disadvantages that you might encounter or any benefits you might lose. Transferring cash or investments held in ISAs to your other ISAs won’t affect their tax-efficient status. Learn more about transferring your investments.

How to use the ISA transfer service

If you’re registered, you can request a cash ISA transfer in the Barclays app or Online Banking Alternatively, you can call us on 0345 744 5445¹ or visit a branch to arrange an ISA transfer.

You can transfer cash and investments held within ISAs elsewhere to our Investment ISA online. Find out how to transfer your investments.   

It can take up to 15 working days to complete a cash ISA transfer, and up to 30 calendar days to complete an Investment ISA transfer. During this time, any money in Investment ISAs can’t be invested in the stock market.

If you want to transfer your ISA with us to another ISA provider (including our Smart Investor), you’ll need to contact the other provider to complete an ISA transfer request. You can choose whether you want to transfer all or part of the balance of your existing ISA. 

Keep in mind:

• If you’ve already paid into an ISA in the current tax year, you’ll need to transfer out all of the money you paid in during this tax year. We can’t do partial transfers of any money you’ve paid in during the current tax year.  
• You can choose to transfer all or part of the money you’ve paid in during previous years

If I open a cash ISA at the end of one tax year, what happens to the interest in the new tax year?

The interest you earn on your money in a cash ISA remains tax-free for the life of the ISA, providing all ISA conditions are met. The rate of the interest paid might change, but it’ll remain tax-free. However, the government may change the ISA rules in the future.

If I transfer my previous years’ deposits into a new ISA, does it count towards my current tax year ISA allowance?

As long as you use the ISA transfer service, it won’t count towards your current tax year allowance. You can transfer previous years’ ISA funds into a new cash or investment ISA and it won’t count towards the current year’s allowance.

For example, if you have £18,000 in previous ISAs, you can transfer some or all of this balance into your new ISA and still have your £20,000 allowance for the current tax year. The interest on the combined balance will also be tax-free. Remember to complete the ISA transfer form, which you can do in the app or Online Banking. Alternatively, you can call us or visit one of our branches.

What happens if I inherit an ISA allowance from a spouse or civil partner?

You can get certain ISA benefits that your spouse or civil partner had built up in any ISAs they had, if they passed away on or after 3 December 2014. This is known as an Additional Permitted Subscription allowance and must be used within three years from the date of death, or 180 days after the administration of the estate is complete, if this is later.

Is the money held in my ISAs protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?

For money held in cash ISAs, your eligible deposits with us are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the FSCS – the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. This covers all of your accounts held with us, not just your cash ISAs. If the total value of all your individual deposits held with us is above the £85,000 coverage limit, you’ll only be covered on amounts up to £85,000.  

For money held in an Investment ISA, your eligible deposits are held with us and are covered by the FSCS up to the first £50,000.