ISA Allowance 2026-27
Every ISA limit in one place — overall, Cash, Stocks & Shares, Lifetime ISA and Junior ISA — plus how many ISAs you can hold, and why the cash ISA cut planned for April 2027 is not going ahead.
ISA allowances — 2026-27 and 2025-26
| ISA type | 2026-27 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall ISA allowance (all types combined) | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| Cash ISA | Up to £20,000 (shares overall limit) | Up to £20,000 (shares overall limit) |
| Stocks & Shares ISA | Up to £20,000 (shares overall limit) | Up to £20,000 (shares overall limit) |
| Lifetime ISA (LISA) | £4,000 (counts inside overall) | £4,000 (counts inside overall) |
| Junior ISA (JISA) | £9,000 per child, separate allowance | £9,000 per child, separate allowance |
| Cash ISA from 6 April 2027 (planned cut cancelled at Budget 2026) | Up to £20,000 at any age (shares overall limit) | |
Cash and Stocks & Shares ISAs don't have individual sub-limits — you can put your entire £20,000 into either one, or split it. Budget 2026 cancelled the cash sub-limit that was due from 6 April 2027.
The April 2027 cash ISA cut: cancelled
Budget 2026 (28 October 2026) cancelled the cut to the Cash ISA limit that Autumn Budget 2025 had announced for 6 April 2027. Savers under 65 would have been limited to £12,000 a year in cash; instead the Cash ISA limit stays £20,000 for savers of every age, inside the unchanged £20,000 overall ISA allowance.
In practice: nothing changes for cash savers on 6 April 2027. A saver under 65 can keep paying the full £20,000 into Cash ISAs, as now, and does not need to move any of it into a Stocks & Shares ISA to use the whole allowance.
Source: HM Treasury — Budget 2026.
How many ISAs can I have?
There's no limit on how many ISA accounts you can hold over your lifetime. Since 6 April 2024, you can also pay into more than one ISA of the same type within a single tax year — for example, two Cash ISAs with different providers — as long as your combined subscriptions across every ISA stay within the £20,000 overall allowance. Two exceptions: you can only subscribe to one Lifetime ISA per tax year, and a child can hold only one cash Junior ISA and one stocks & shares Junior ISA at a time.
Lifetime ISA rules summary
Up to £4,000 per year (inside the overall £20,000 allowance), with a 25% government bonus added on top — up to £1,000/year. You can open one between age 18 and 39, and keep contributing until age 50. Penalty-free withdrawal is from age 60, or earlier for a first home costing up to £450,000. A first home above that price carries a 20% charge (from 29 October 2026); any other withdrawal triggers a 25% charge. Model your own numbers in the Lifetime ISA Calculator.
ISA vs pension
An ISA is funded with after-tax money but every withdrawal is 100% tax-free at any age. A pension gets tax relief going in but withdrawals (beyond the 25% tax-free lump sum) are taxed as income, and access is locked until your Normal Minimum Pension Age. Which wins depends mainly on your tax rate now versus in retirement — see the full side-by-side comparison and worked examples in our ISA vs Pension guide.
Tax treatment inside vs outside an ISA
Interest, dividends and capital gains earned inside any ISA are completely tax-free, with no cap on how large the pot grows and nothing to declare. Outside an ISA, savings interest uses your Personal Allowance, the starting rate for savings, and the Personal Savings Allowance before any tax is due — see exactly how much of your interest is tax-free in our Tax on Savings Interest calculator.
Savings with NS&I sit outside an ISA unless they are its Direct ISA or Junior ISA: Premium Bonds prizes are tax-free, but interest on its other accounts counts towards your Personal Savings Allowance. Current rates are on our NS&I interest rates page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ISA allowance for 2026-27?
The overall ISA allowance for 2026-27 is £20,000 — the same as 2025-26. This is the total you can pay into ISAs of all types combined (Cash, Stocks & Shares, Innovative Finance and Lifetime ISA) in one tax year. It resets every 6 April and cannot be carried forward — unused allowance is lost.
How many ISAs can I have?
You can hold as many ISA accounts as you like across your lifetime, and since 6 April 2024 you can pay into more than one ISA of the SAME type in a single tax year (for example, two different Cash ISAs with different providers) — as long as your total subscriptions across all ISAs stay within the £20,000 overall limit. The exceptions: you can still only pay into one Lifetime ISA per tax year, and a child can hold only one cash Junior ISA and one stocks and shares Junior ISA at a time.
What is the Lifetime ISA (LISA) limit?
You can pay up to £4,000 per year into a Lifetime ISA — this counts inside your overall £20,000 ISA allowance, not on top of it. The government adds a 25% bonus on top (up to £1,000/year), but withdrawals before age 60 for anything other than a first home (up to £450,000) trigger a 25% charge that claws back the bonus and some of your own money. A first home costing more than £450,000 carries a reduced 20% charge from 29 October 2026.
What is the Junior ISA (JISA) limit?
The Junior ISA allowance is £9,000 per child for 2026-27 — separate from an adult's own £20,000 allowance. A parent or guardian can open a JISA for a child under 18 living in the UK who doesn't already have a Child Trust Fund; the child gains control of the account at 16 but can't withdraw until 18.
Is the cash ISA limit still being cut in April 2027?
No. Budget 2026 (28 October 2026) cancelled the cut to the Cash ISA limit that Autumn Budget 2025 had announced for 6 April 2027. Savers under 65 would have been limited to £12,000 a year in cash; instead the Cash ISA limit stays £20,000 for savers of every age, inside the unchanged £20,000 overall ISA allowance.
Can I still put my whole ISA allowance into a Cash ISA after April 2027?
Yes. With the cut cancelled, you can pay up to £20,000 a year into Cash ISAs from 6 April 2027, whatever your age, as long as your total across every ISA stays within the £20,000 overall allowance.
Is interest, dividends and growth inside an ISA really tax-free?
Yes. Interest, dividends and capital gains earned inside any type of ISA are completely free of Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, with no limit on how large the pot grows, and none of it needs to be declared on a tax return. Outside an ISA, savings interest and dividends use up separate allowances — see our tax on savings interest page for how those work.
Sources
- GOV.UK — Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)
- GOV.UK — How ISAs work
- GOV.UK — Lifetime ISA
- GOV.UK — Junior Individual Savings Accounts
- HM Treasury — Budget 2026
Reflects 2026-27 and 2025-26 tax year rates, verified against gov.uk.
Related Calculators
Lifetime ISA Calculator
Project your LISA balance with the 25% government bonus.
Tax on Savings Interest
How much savings interest is tax-free via the Personal Allowance, starting rate for savings and Personal Savings Allowance.
Compound Interest Calculator
ISA vs SIPP vs GIA tax-free growth comparison for UK savers.