Reading time 3 minutes
At a glance:
The ISA allowance for 2025/26 is £20,000, unchanged from the last tax year. 
This means you can pay £20,000 into ISAs from 6 of April 2025 to the 5 of April 2026.
You could split your allowance across different ISA types, as long as the total is £20,000 or less

How does the ISA allowance work?

The ISA allowance is how much you can pay into an ISA during a tax year. The £20,000 limit applies across Cash ISAs, Stocks and Shares* and Innovative Finance ISAs*.

*We don’t offer these types of ISA. 

This means you could split your allowance across those three ISA types, as long as the total is £20,000 or less.

You can also pay into a Lifetime ISA as part of your allowance. There’s a limit to how much of your allowance you can use in a Lifetime ISA.

Allowances for different ISA types

While you can pay £20,000 into ISAs in total, there are limits for how you much you can pay into each type:
 
  • Cash ISA – £20,000 per tax year.
  • Stocks and Shares ISA – £20,000 per tax year.
  • Innovative Finance ISA – £20,000 per tax year.
  • Lifetime ISA – £4,000 per tax year, but you must make your first payment before you are 40 years old. You can’t pay into a Lifetime ISA after the age of 50.

ISA allowance example

For example, you could pay the following in a single tax year:
 
  • £10,000 into a Cash ISA
  • £6,000 into a Stocks and Shares ISA
  • £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA
  • Total: £20,000.

What happens if you pay more than £20,000 into ISAs in a tax year?

If you think you’ve paid more than your allowance into an ISA, contact HM Revenue & Customs.
Call the ISA helpline on 0300 200 3300 from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday.
 

How does transferring an ISA affect your allowance?

Transferring an ISA balance from a previous tax year will not count towards your ISA allowance.

You can transfer some or all of your money saved in previous tax years into a Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA, Innovative Finance ISA or Lifetime ISA.

Keeping your tax-free status
Be careful not to close the Cash ISA, withdraw the money, then pay into a new Cash ISA. This can mean losing tax-free status.

Always check for charges if you plan on transferring an ISA to a new provider.

When does the ISA allowance reset?

The ISA allowance resets at the end of each tax year, which is 5 April. You can’t carry any allowance over into the next year, it will reset to the limit again once the new tax year starts on 6 April.

Does a junior ISA count towards your ISA allowance?

No, saving into a Junior ISA for a child or grandchild won’t count towards your ISA allowance. The allowance for Junior ISAs is £9000 for the tax year.
The content on this page is for reference. It is not financial advice.
For help with money issues, try MoneyHelper.

Looking for an ISA?