What is the 2025/26 ISA allowance?

At a glance

• The annual ISA allowance is the maximum amount you can deposit across all ISAs each tax-year
• ISA allowance 2025/2026 stands at £20,000
• From April 2027, savers under 65 will only be able to put up to £12,000 of their allowance into cash ISAs per tax-year.

What is the annual ISA allowance?

The annual ISA allowance is the maximum amount of money you can put away in ISAs each tax-year. As of the 2025/26 tax-year, this threshold stands at £20,000.

The overall allowance hasn’t changed since 2017 and is expected to remain in place until 2030/31. However, in the Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, revealed there would be changes to the amount savers under 65 can put away in cash ISAs each year.

Can you carry over any unused ISA allowance into the next tax-year?

If you don’t use your entire ISA allowance by the time the current tax-year ends, you can’t carry the outstanding amount over into the next tax-year.

Instead, the ISA allowance automatically resets when the new tax-year begins, which is why savers are often reminded to ‘use it or lose it’.

When does the new ISA year start?

Your ISA allowance resets at the start of each tax-year.

The 2025/26 tax-year began on 6 April 2025 and runs until 5 April 2026; similarly, the 2026/27 tax-year starts and ends on the same dates a year later.

Who qualifies for an ISA allowance?

Only UK residents, members of the armed forces and Crown Servants (as well as their spouse or civil partners) aged 18 or over can open an adult ISA and therefore qualify for the ISA allowance.

While Junior ISAs (JISAs) are available to those under the age of 18, these come with their own annual allowance.

Is there a joint ISA allowance for married couples?

There isn’t a joint ISA allowance for married couples as ISAs can only be held in one person’s name. Instead, you and your spouse or civil partner will each receive the standard £20,000 yearly ISA allowance.

While you could choose to spread your money strategically across different ISAs, remember any returns technically belong to the accountholder.

How many ISAs can you have?

There’s no limit on the number of ISAs you can have.

Previously, you could only open and fund one of each of the four main types of ISA per tax-year (i.e. one cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, Lifetime ISA and Innovative Finance ISA IFISA). However, this changed when new rules came into effect from April 2024 allowing multiple subscriptions to the same type of ISA.

In theory, this means you could open and pay into both an easy access and fixed rate cash ISA within a tax-year, so long as you don’t breach your overall £20,000 allowance. Alternatively, you could use multiple stocks and shares ISAs to invest in different assets.

Importantly, these rules don’t apply to JISAs; children can only hold a subscription to one Junior cash ISA and one Junior stocks and shares ISA per tax-year. You should also bear in mind some providers may not allow you to hold multiple accounts with them, so be sure to check before applying.

Related guide: How many ISAs can I have?

What is the Lifetime ISA allowance?

Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) are another exemption to previous reforms; while it’s possible to hold multiple LISAs you can still only open and pay into one of this type of account per tax-year.

Furthermore, although they come with their own limit of £4,000, it should be noted any contributions into a LISA count towards your overall ISA allowance.

Do you need to open a new ISA every year?

You don’t need to open a new cash ISA every tax-year, but good practice is to regularly review top rates to check whether an existing ISA still pays competitive returns.

However, if your fixed ISA reaches the end of its term (i.e. matures), you’ll need to decide whether to withdraw your funds and close the account, renew with your current provider or transfer your ISA to a new account.

What happens to your ISA at the end of the tax-year?

Your ISA will remain open at the end of the tax-year, and you’ll continue to earn interest on any money held in the account free from income tax.

If you’ve used up your allowance, you’ll also be able to add to any existing ISAs once it automatically resets when the new tax-year begins (so long as the account permits further deposits).

But, bear in mind that the end of the tax-year can be a popular time for providers to launch new, competitive accounts or increase their rates as they try to entice savers looking to use up the last of their allowance before it resets. You may therefore want to consider opening a new account or transferring your ISA if you find a more attractive deal.

Related guide: What is ISA season and why does it matter for your savings?