The best paying accounts
The financial year ends on 5 April, so there’s only two and a weeks left to use up your ISA allowance. Here’s our pick of where to put your cash.
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What is the ISA deadline?
Every financial year our ISA allowance for new contributions resets. This means we can save up to £20,000 of new money between 5 April and 5 April the following year.
Once one year ends, you lose any of the allowance you didn’t use, which means if you want to take advantage of it you need to do so before 5 April.
However, some providers might actually stop taking applications for new accounts earlier than this or withdraw products days or weeks early, so don’t hang about.
Do you need an ISA?
Remember, the reason you might want an ISA is to protect any interest you earn on cash savings or growth / dividends on investments to be tax free. However, these accounts aren’t the only way to save or invest tax-free.
First there’s the Personal Savings Allowance, set at £1,000 of interest a year if you’re a basic rate taxpayer, or £500 a year if you’re a higher rate taxpayer.
If you can get a better rate of interest outside of an ISA and the total doesn’t exceed your PSA limit, that’s probably a better bet. You can see the best non-ISA rates here.
Then there’s the Capital Gains and Dividend Tax allowances for investments. Though they’re falling in April, they still allow you to make some profit each year outside of an ISA. Though it could be wise to move some, if not all, of your investments across before the end of this tax year if you want to use up the larger £6,000 allowance for your gains before it drops to £3,000.
Aged 16 or 17? It’s your last chance to open a full ISA
From 6 April 2024, the rules will change so that you have to be 18 or over to open a Cash ISA. Right now, some providers, especially building societies, will allow 16 and 17 year olds to open and save in them.
So if you, or a relative, is younger and wants to save in one of these accounts, which can pay more than the best Junior ISAs, then you’d best do it now.
Best Easy & Limited Access Cash ISAs
- Plum (5.15% AER variable including 0.86% bonus for one year): min £100
- max 3 withdrawals
- Transfers in / not flexible
- Moneybox (5.11% AER variable including 0.96% bonus for one year): min £500
- max 3 withdrawals
- Transfers in / not flexible
- Chip (5.1% AER variable): min £1
- Flexible
- Zopa (5.08% AER variable including a 0.5% bonus for one year): min £1
- Transfers in / flexible
Find more options in our ISA best buy tables
Best fixed Cash ISAs
- Virgin Money One year fix (5.25%)- open to current account holders
- OakNorth Bank One year fix (5.07%)
- OakNorth Bank Two year fix (4.7%)
- UBL Two year fix (4.7%)
- Aldermore Three year fix (4.5%)
- Close Brothers Three year fix (4.4%)
- UBL Four year fix (4.05%)
- Zopa Four year fix (4.01%)
- UBL Five year fix (4.16%)
- Close Brothers Five year fix (4.15%)
Best Lifetime ISAs
- Moneybox LISA (4.4% AER, drops to 3.5% after one year)
- Tembo LISA (formally Nude) (4.3% AER variable)
- Paragon Bank LISA (3.51% AER)
Best Junior ISAs
You can open via the post or in branch
- Coventry Building Society (4.95% AER variable): min £1 (open via post/branch)
- Loughborough Building Society (4.8% AER variable): min £1 (open via post/branch)
- Leek Building Society (4.75% AER variable): min £10 (open via post/branch)
- Skipton Building Society (4.75% AER variable): min £1 (open via post/branch)
- Stafford Building Society (4.75% AER variable): min £1 (open via post/branch)
- Newbury Building Society (4.65% AER variable): min £50 (open via post/branch)
- Earl Shilton Building Society (4.6% AER variable): min £10 (open via post/branch)
- Family Building Society (4.6% AER variable paid at £3,000 or 4.35% at £1,000): min £1 (open via post/branch)
You can open online
- NS&I (4% AER variable): min £1 (open online)
- Tesco Bank (4% AER variable): min £1 (open via online/phone)