Answers · UK 2025/26
What is a Junior ISA and how much can be paid in for 2026/27?
A Junior ISA lets parents or guardians save or invest up to £9,000 a year on behalf of a child under 18, tax-free, in either a Junior Cash ISA or Junior Stocks and Shares ISA (or a mix of both). The money belongs to the child and becomes accessible to them at 18, at which point it automatically converts into a standard adult ISA.
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Junior ISAs are a tax-efficient way for parents, grandparents, or other family members to build savings for a child's future, with the funds ultimately controlled by the child once they reach adulthood. **The 2026/27 allowance** Up to £9,000 can be contributed to a child's Junior ISA in the 2026/27 tax year, split across a Junior Cash ISA and Junior Stocks and Shares ISA in any combination, similar in concept to how adult ISA allowances can be split across different types. **Who can open and contribute** A parent or legal guardian must open the account on behalf of a child under 18 (the child cannot open it themselves), but anyone -- grandparents, other family members, friends -- can contribute into an already-opened account, up to the combined £9,000 annual limit across all contributors. **The money legally belongs to the child** Once paid into a Junior ISA, the money legally belongs to the child, not the parent who opened the account -- parents manage the account on the child's behalf until they turn 18, but cannot withdraw the funds for their own use or access it before the child reaches adulthood (except in very limited circumstances such as terminal illness). **What happens at 18** At age 18, the Junior ISA automatically converts into an adult ISA of the equivalent type, and the now-adult child gains full control, able to withdraw or continue investing the funds as they see fit -- this transition point is worth discussing with your child in advance, since some 18-year-olds may want to spend the accumulated funds immediately rather than continue saving. **Junior ISA vs Child Trust Fund** Child Trust Funds (an older scheme that closed to new accounts some years ago) work similarly and can be transferred into a Junior ISA if a child already has one -- most children born more recently will only have a Junior ISA option available, since Child Trust Funds are no longer offered for new applicants. **Separate from the parent's own ISA allowance** A Junior ISA contribution does not use any of the contributing adult's own personal £20,000 ISA allowance -- a parent can contribute the full £9,000 to a Junior ISA AND separately use their own full £20,000 personal allowance in the same tax year. **Worked example** Grandparents contribute £3,000 and parents contribute £4,000 to a child's Junior Stocks and Shares ISA in the same tax year, totalling £7,000, within the £9,000 combined annual limit -- leaving £2,000 of headroom that could still be contributed by any family member before the tax year ends. **Practical tip** Consider a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA over a Junior Cash ISA for funds genuinely intended for long-term goals like university costs or a future house deposit, given the long minimum 18-year time horizon before the child can access the funds, which suits the longer-term growth potential of stock market investment better than cash savings alone.
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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.