With investment, your capital is at risk. Taxation depends on individual circumstances. ISA and tax rules may change.
\nLet’s start with this one because it’s a costly mistake to make. If you want to transfer your ISA from one provider to another, don’t close your ISA account or withdraw any of the money from your ISA. Why? Because inside your ISA account, your cash or investments are tax-free. Financial advisers often refer to ISAs (and pensions) as tax wrappers – your ISA wraps around your cash or investments like a magic blanket, protecting them from the clutches of tax officials on the other side!
\nThis is a helpful image when thinking about transferring ISAs. Your cash and investments need to pass from one magic blanket to another without being exposed to the outside world. If the blanket slips, the tax officials move in and your lovely tax benefits will be lost.
\nContact the ISA provider you want to transfer to and they will organise your ISA transfer for you.
\nNo. When you transfer an ISA, it doesn’t use up your ISA allowance.
\nThat depends on whether you are transferring an ISA that is just made up of contributions from this tax year or one built up over more than one tax year.
\nYes you can. If you have a number of ISAs it’s often easier to manage them if you combine them into one. You hear this referred to as consolidating your ISAs. You can do this by moving your ISAs into one of your existing ISA accounts (as long as your provider accepts ISA transfers) or you can transfer into a new ISA.
\nYes you can but there are sometimes penalties, for example if you’ve got a fixed-term Cash ISA, so check your paperwork before transferring.
\nThere are a number of different types of ISAs: Cash ISA, Stocks & Shares ISA, Junior ISA, Lifetime ISA and Innovative Finance ISA. You can transfer each of these ISAs into the same type of ISA with another provider.
\nTransferring cash from one ISA to another should be straightforward
\nIf you’re transferring a Stocks & Shares ISA it is possible to transfer your investments within the ISA without selling them (known as an in specie transfer) as long as your new provider offers the same investments. Alternatively you can sell the investments, making sure you keep the cash within your ISA. This cash will then be moved to your new ISA ready for you to pick new investments. Remember: the value of your investments can fluctuate whilst out of the market after transfer, when you’re selling or buying investments
\nIf you’ve got funds in an Innovative Finance ISA that are on loan, it’s important to follow your ISA provider’s process
\nPeople often switch from one type of ISA to another. For example, they may choose to transfer a Cash ISA into a Stocks and Shares ISA or vice versa. It’s simple to do this but remember that Stocks & Shares are higher risk than cash as the value can go up and down and you can lose money.
\nIt’s also straightforward to transfer into a Lifetime ISA but more complicated to transfer out because of the specific rules around Lifetime ISAs. It’s also more complex with an Innovative Finance ISA.
\nYou can transfer between a cash Junior ISA and a Stocks & Shares Junior ISA but you can’t transfer a Junior ISA into another type of ISA. It will automatically become a regular ISA on the child’s 18th birthday.
\nPeople transfer ISAs for many reasons. Often they can see a better opportunity elsewhere, for example an ISA offering a higher-cash interest rate, a wider choice of investments or lower fees. They might want to move all their ISAs to the same provider or keep different accounts – for example an ISA and a pension – under one roof.
\nWhile you are entitled to transfer your ISA from your current provider, not all providers accept transfers into their ISAs so do your homework
\nWe’ve said this already but we’ll say it again - don’t close your ISA or withdraw any funds you want to transfer. Your new ISA provider will need to organise your ISA transfer. If you don’t follow the process, you’ll lose the tax benefits within your ISA
\nWill you lose out by transferring your ISA? For example will you face a penalty or lose interest when you transfer? Check with your provider before kicking off a transfer. Do bear in mind that if your existing ISA provider charges an exit fee, your new provider may cover the cost. At Bestinvest we pay up to £500 towards exit fees*
\nDoes the new provider offer everything you need? For example, they may offer lower fees but if that means a smaller choice of investments or no telephone support, does that matter to you?
\nThat depends on the type of ISA and who you are transferring from and to. Digital transfers into a Bestinvest Stocks & Shares ISA, for example, can take a couple of weeks.
\nNo. You can’t transfer an ISA from one person to another. You’d have to withdraw money from your ISA so they could pay it into theirs and, in doing this, the tax benefits would be lost.
\nIf you transfer an ISA when you’ve withdrawn money using flexible ISA rules, you will lose your flexible ISA allowance.
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\nThe value of an investment may go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you originally invested
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