Answers · UK 2025/26
What is the difference between a Junior ISA and an adult ISA?
A Junior ISA has a £9,000 annual allowance for 2026/27, separate from the adult £20,000 ISA allowance, and belongs to the child, who cannot withdraw funds until age 18 (except in rare cases). Anyone can contribute, but only the child can access the money.
Full answer
Junior ISAs (JISAs) are designed for saving on behalf of a child under 18 and work quite differently from adult ISAs. The Junior ISA allowance for 2026/27 is £9,000 a year, completely separate from and not counted toward the adult £20,000 ISA allowance -- so a parent can fund their own £20,000 adult ISA and a child's £9,000 Junior ISA in the same tax year, using different allowances entirely. Anyone can contribute to a child's Junior ISA -- parents, grandparents, other family members or friends -- as long as the combined total across all contributors does not exceed £9,000 in the tax year, but only a parent or legal guardian can open the account and manage it on the child's behalf until the child turns 16, after which the child can manage it themselves (though still cannot withdraw funds). Crucially, the money in a Junior ISA legally belongs to the child, not the parent who opened it, and cannot generally be withdrawn before the child turns 18, except in exceptional circumstances such as terminal illness. On the child's 18th birthday, the Junior ISA automatically converts into an adult ISA, and the child gains full control and can withdraw or continue saving using their own adult £20,000 allowance from that point onward. Like adult ISAs, all growth and interest within a Junior ISA is completely tax-free.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.