A raft of new ISA rules are coming into effect on April 6 to “simplify” the tax-efficient savings product and “provide more choice”.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis explained a few of the changes coming into effect in the next tax year in his latest BBC5 Live podcast.
Mr Lewis told listeners: “On April 6, they’re slightly changing the [ISA] rules.
“Currently, you can put money into one Cash ISA and you can put money into shares ISAs in a tax year, and you can have different providers for your Cash ISA from previous years.”
However, he noted: “But you can’t put money into two Cash ISAs in the same tax year (that you’re actually putting money in).”
From April 6, people will have the option to open multiple ISAs of the same type within a single tax year, excluding the Lifetime ISA.
This change removes the restriction on subscribing to only one ISA of each type per year. However, all subscriptions must still adhere to the overall ISA limit of £20,000.
Mr Lewis added: “You’ll be able to split your Cash ISA so that you could put some into a fixed rate ISA, and some into an easy access.
“You’re also going to be able to do partial Cash ISA transfers, whereas currently, you have to transfer the whole amount.
“So there are some changes coming to loosen up the ISA rules.”
Mr Lewis also shared a “big rule” people should be aware of when mapping out and investing their savings.
He said: “People say what’s the best savings account for me? The mix-and-match approach. Try and have every penny where you absolutely maximise it.
“The big rule is, you want to have your money where you maximise it. The summary rule is, that if you’re a taxpayer, a Cash ISA is nicer. If you’re not a taxpayer, in most cases, normal savings give higher rates than Cash ISAs so put your money in normal savings.”
With this rule, for example, people might opt to allocate a portion of their funds to a fixed-rate savings account, which offers higher interest rates but restricts access for a set period.
At the same time, they could invest another portion of funds in an easy-access account, which would typically earn more interest than a current account while still having access to their funds when needed.
What is changing with ISAs in April?
The Government announced a package of ISA reforms during last November’s Autumn Statement, and the following will take effect on April 6, 2024.
The age for opening a Cash ISA will rise from 16 to 18 and over. This will make the rules consistent with the age requirement already in place for opening Stocks and Shares, Innovative Finance and Lifetime ISAs.
People can open multiple ISAs of the same type (except the Lifetime ISA) within one tax year, but all subscriptions must remain within the overall ISA limit of £20,000.
The requirement for an investor to make a fresh ISA application where an existing ISA account has received no subscription in the previous tax year will be removed.
Partial transfers of the current year’s ISA subscriptions between ISA managers will be allowed.
Long-Term Asset Funds will be “permitted investments” in an Innovative Finance ISA, which does not require access to funds within 30 days.
Additionally, open-ended property funds with extended notice periods will be “permitted investments” in an Innovative Finance ISA.
The ISA limits will remain the same at £20,000 for adult ISAs and £9,000 for Junior ISA (JISA) and Child Trust Fund (CTF).
