What are ISAs?

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) let you save cash tax-free. Any income you make in an ISA is tax-free. However, there’s an annual limit on how much you can put in your ISA, called the ISA allowance.

How does the ISA allowance work?

£20,000 is the maximum amount you can contribute to your ISAs each tax year. This allowance is shared between all of your ISA accounts. If you have a Stocks ISA and a Cash ISA, you can’t contribute more than £20,000 to them combined. However, there are no restrictions on how you split the £20,000 allowance. You can put it all in one account or split it across multiple accounts with different providers.

Can I withdraw from ISAs?

Your 212 ISAs are flexible. This means you can withdraw any amount and deposit it back without impacting your allowance as long as you do it within the same tax year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

For example, if you deposit £20,000 on the 6th of April 2024, you can withdraw it on the same day and deposit it back anytime you want until the 5th of April 2025. Any amount you withdraw, including the previous year's contributions, you can deposit back within the same tax year.

Can I open an ISA?

Any UK resident over 18 can have an ISA account.

What are the different types of ISAs?

There are five types of ISAs:

Cash ISA
Stocks and shares ISA
Innovative finance ISA
Lifetime ISA
Junior ISA

With Trading 212, you can have a Stocks ISA. At a later stage, we will also be introducing a Cash ISA.

Can I transfer an existing ISA?

You can transfer your ISAs in and out of Trading 212 without any restrictions or fees, although your other broker may charge you a fee.

To learn more about ISA transfers, visit our ISA & Portfolio transfers section.

Can I have multiple ISAs?

You can have multiple ISAs with multiple brokers. The only thing you need to make sure is that you don’t breach your £20,000 annual allowance if you have ISAs with multiple brokers.

If you think you may have contributed more than the annual allowance, please contact HMRC for more information.

What can I hold in an ISA?

💰Cash ISA

You will only be able to hold cash in a Cash ISA. Investments and any other non-cash financial instruments are prohibited.

📈Stocks ISA

In your 212 Stocks ISA you can hold:

Stocks
ETFs
Cash
Certain instruments resulting from corporate actions (Learn more here)

The UK’s HMRC defines which investments are eligible. Most stocks and ETFs are eligible but their status can change if they get delisted from a certain exchange. A common example is a down listing from a US stock exchange, like NASDAQ or NYSE, to OTC Markets. Unlike NASDAQ and NYSE, OTC Markets is not a recognised exchange by HMRC, so most investments would be ineligible.

If you hold shares that no longer qualify for your Stocks ISA account, you’ll be notified of this change via email and in-app notification. You’ll usually be able to hold or sell your shares up to a specific deadline, after which they’ll be automatically sold. The proceeds from these sales can remain in your Stocks ISA.

Can I keep my ISA if I move abroad?

If you open an ISA in the UK and then move abroad, you can’t put more money into it after the tax year that you move unless you’re a Crown employee working overseas or their spouse or civil partner. It’s important to notify your ISA provider when you stop being a resident of the UK.

You can still maintain your ISA account and receive tax relief on the money and investments held within it. You just can’t contribute additional money.

If you return and become a UK resident again, you’ll again be able to contribute money to your ISAs.