>> Investments

Investments

What is an ISA?

Nobody really likes paying tax on their income. So when you have to pay tax on your savings interest, or on the gains you make from investments, you probably start to wonder what’s the point.

This is where Individual Savings Accounts (or ISA's as they are more commonly known) come in. ISAs are a great way to save and invest where the gains you make are sheltered from the taxman.

ISAs were introduced in April 1999 by the government to replace PEPs and TESSAs. They were intended to simplify the tax-free offering from the government. However as with any government incentives it didn’t succeed in simplifying anything. Despite that ISAs have proven to be very successful, as many have taken advantage of the ISA allowance each year to protect their savings and investments from the taxman.

There are limits on the number of ISAs you can take out each year. You have an annual ISA investment allowance of £7,200, and you cannot exceed this. You can invest all £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA, or up to £3,600 in a cash ISA and the remainder of the £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA. However, once invested you cannot withdraw and then reinvest if you have already taken advantage of the full allowance. That is, if you invest £7,200 in may of any given year, then withdraw £2,000 in June of that year, you cannot then replace the £2,000 later on in the same tax year as you will already be deemed to have invested the full £7,200.

Read the full article >> What is an ISA?