Savers deposit record sums in cash ISAs in April

Deposits into cash ISAs reached their highest level in 25 years.

Savers deposited a record £11.7 billion in cash Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) in April 2024, according to the latest Money and Credit figures released by the Bank of England.

This is the highest amount deposited in cash ISAs in a single month since records began (and when ISAs were introduced) in April 1999.

Deposits into cash ISAs this April were approximately 30% higher than April 2023, when households saved £9.0 billion in these accounts.

A major reason for this increased demand is likely to be because of the rise in interest rates on savings accounts, as more people at risk of paying tax on their savings looked to take advantage of their tax-free ISA allowance.

The effect of ISA season

The amount that savers deposited in ISAs in April was much higher than the month before, when just £3.2 billion was deposited.

It’s not surprising to see this uptick, as savers often try to use up any of their leftover ISA allowance before the end of the tax-year and make the most of their refreshed ISA allowance as the new tax-year begins.

“There was a flurry of activity among ISA providers during March and April, launching and increasing ISA rates to entice deposits, both for those rushing to get a deal for the 2023/24 tax year, and the current one,” Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, explained.

This activity led to an increase in rates, with the average easy access cash ISA rate rising from 3.32% at the start of March to 3.38% at the start of April. Meanwhile, the average one-year cash ISA rate rose from 4.49% to 4.52% over the same period.

Tax-free savings

The main benefit of ISAs is that you don’t need to pay tax on any interest you earn.

When interest rates on savings accounts were low, many people didn’t need to worry about paying tax as they were earning so little interest. However, as rates rose (without a similar rise in the Personal Savings Allowance thresholds), more people may have found themselves at risk of paying tax on their savings.

Because of this, ISAs have become an increasingly appealing option over standard savings accounts for savers looking to make their money more tax-efficient.

“As interest rates rose sharply last year, those savers who decided to invest their cash outside of an ISA wrapper may have breached their Personal Savings Allowance. Cash ISAs can be a better option, particularly for higher rate taxpayers with a large nest egg,” Springall commented.

“The longer-term tax-free wrapper is the benefit of a Cash ISA, protecting returns regardless of interest rate rises,” she concluded.

Even though average ISA rates are now lower than they were at the peak of ISA season, it’s not too late to find a competitive account.

At the top of our charts, there are still several easy access ISAs paying in excess of 5.00% AER, as well as fixed ISAs paying more than 4.70% AER.