Answers · UK 2025/26
What has the ISA annual allowance been over the years?
The ISA allowance has been £20,000 since 2017/18 — frozen for nine years. Key milestones: £7,000 when ISAs launched in 1999, £10,200 in 2009/10, £15,000 in 2014/15. Inflation has significantly eroded the real purchasing power of the unchanged £20,000 allowance.
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UK ISA annual allowance history. ISAs were introduced in April 1999, replacing PEPs and TESSAs. Initial allowance: £7,000 total (£3,000 Cash ISA, £4,000 S&S). Key milestones: 1999/00: £7,000; 2004/05: £7,000 (flat for five years); 2009/10: £10,200 (raised significantly by Alistair Darling, with £5,100 in Cash); 2010/11: £10,200 confirmed; 2011/12: £10,680; 2012/13: £11,280; 2013/14: £11,520; 2014/15: £15,000 (major increase by George Osborne in his ISA reform — the 'NISA', removing the Cash/S&S split); 2015/16: £15,240; 2016/17: £15,240; 2017/18 onwards: £20,000 (another large jump) — frozen at this level ever since. Real value erosion: £20,000 in April 2017 would be worth approximately £25,700 in today's money (2026) adjusted for CPI inflation. The frozen £20,000 allowance is therefore worth approximately 22% less in real terms than when it was set. By comparison, pension Annual Allowance was cut (from £255,000 to £40,000 then back to £60,000), while ISA has simply stagnated. Calls to raise the ISA allowance (some proposals to £100,000 for UK-listed stocks) have not yet been legislated. Lifetime ISA launched April 2017: £4,000/year sub-limit within the £20,000 total.
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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.