What is an ISA?

The main difference between an ISA and other types of saving account, is the ability to earn tax-free interest. Each tax year you get an ISA allowance, a set amount which you can hold in an ISA, with the benefit of earning tax-free interest.

For the current tax year, you can save:

  • Up to £20,000 in personal ISAs.
  • Up to £9,000 on behalf of a child.

There are different types of ISA, including cash ISAs, or stocks and shares ISAs. You can have one of each type in a single tax year, giving you flexible options to suit your saving goals.

Learn more about ISAs

Compare our best ISAs

Cash ISAs

Whatever you’d like to save towards, a cash ISA can be a predictable way to earn tax-free interest.

  • ISA Reward Bonus Saver – a flexible cash ISA with exclusive interest rates for Reward Current Account or Ultimate Current Account customers.
  • ISA Bonus Saver – earn more interest when you make fewer withdrawals.
  • ISA Saver Fixed – if you can afford to put your savings away for up to two years, you could benefit from a higher tax-free interest rate.
  • ISA Saver Variable – a flexible way to save, giving you unlimited access to your money when you need it.
  • Junior Cash ISA – designed for anyone aged under 18, helping them to save for a bright future.
Compare all cash ISAs

Investment ISAs

Whether you’re an experienced investor or just starting out, we’ve got an account to suit you.

  • Investment ISA – select one of three ready-made funds to suit a low, medium or higher risk appetite. We’ll manage your ISA for you, investing in a mix of shares, bonds, property and more.
  • Stocks and Shares ISA – make and manage your own investments, selecting from our full list of UK and international stocks, funds, investment trusts, bonds and more.
Start investing

The value of your investments, and income from them, can fall as well as rise so you may get back less than you invest. If you're unsure about investing, seek independent advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in future. Charges may apply.

Help to Buy ISAs

You can no longer apply for a Help to Buy: ISA. But if you already have one with another provider, you could transfer it to us.

More about Help to Buy ISAs

Why save with Halifax?

Plenty to choose from

Whether you need easy access to your money, or can fix for a longer term to earn more in interest.

Do your sums

Work out a monthly savings amount, or how long it will take to reach it, using our handy saving calculators.

Start saving today

When you open an account online, it could be ready to use right away. Start saving with as little as £1 on selected accounts.

Frequently asked questions

  • ISA stands for an Individual Savings Account. An ISA is an account that allows you to save and invest free from UK tax. Halifax offers two types of ISA. A Cash ISA allows you to save money without having to pay UK income tax on the interest earned. A Stocks and Shares ISA allows you to invest money without having to pay UK income tax on the income earned and capital gains tax on profits made. With ISAs, there is a limit to how much money you can save or invest per year. This is known as the ISA allowance.

  • Each year an ISA allowance is set in the UK. This is the amount of money you can save and invest in ISAs in each tax year. The tax year runs from 6th April to the 5th April the following year. You are allowed to have more than one ISA, however you are only allowed to pay into one of each type of ISA per tax year without exceeding your annual ISA allowance.

  • The ISA allowance is the total amount you can save and invest in ISAs in each tax year. Bear in mind that you can't carry any unused allowance over to a new tax year. The ISA allowance simply resets back to the annual limit again on 6th April. Visit our ISA allowance page to find out what the current ISA allowance in the UK is.

  • If you’d like to save money without having to pay UK tax on your savings, an ISA could be the ideal option for you. There are different types of ISAs to choose from. Some have the benefit of a fixed rate or easy access to your money. Browse our range of Cash ISAs.

  • You can have more than one ISA. However you are only allowed to pay into one of each ISA type per tax year without exceeding your annual ISA allowance. If you exceed the ISA allowance for the tax year, HMRC will let you know how this can be corrected.

  • You are allowed to have more than one ISA. However you can only pay into one Cash ISA, one Stocks and Shares ISA, one Lifetime ISA and one Innovative Finance ISA or a combination of the four. This is subject to the ISA annual allowance. Visit our ISAs explained page to find out more about how ISAs work.

Halifax Savers Prize Draw

Every month, eligible Halifax savers have the chance to win prizes of up to £100,000. Registration and prize draw rules apply.

Find out how to register

Halifax is a division of Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Bank of Scotland plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628.

Halifax Share Dealing Limited. Registered in England and Wales no. 3195646. Registered Office: Trinity Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire, HX1 2RG. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 183332. A Member of the London Stock Exchange and an HM Revenue & Customs Approved ISA Manager.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Eligible deposits held with us are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme.

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