Answers · UK 2025/26
What is the new ISA multiple subscription rule from April 2024?
From April 2024, you can pay into multiple ISAs of the same type in the same tax year -- for example, two different cash ISAs or two stocks and shares ISAs. Previously you could only subscribe to one of each type per year. The £20,000 annual limit still applies to the total across all ISAs.
Full answer
Before 6 April 2024, the ISA rules required that you could only subscribe new money to one ISA of each type per tax year -- one cash ISA, one stocks and shares ISA, one innovative finance ISA, and one Lifetime ISA. This restriction meant savers often missed better rates because they were locked into a single provider once they had deposited in that type of ISA. From 6 April 2024 onwards, HMRC removed this restriction. You can now subscribe to as many ISAs of the same type as you like in the same tax year, provided the total of all subscriptions across all ISA types does not exceed £20,000 for 2026/27. The change gives you much more flexibility: you could, for example, open a cash ISA with one bank for a fixed-rate deal and a second cash ISA with another bank for easy access, and pay into both in the same year. Similarly, you could hold two stocks and shares ISAs with different providers -- perhaps one for passive index funds and one for active funds. The £20,000 overall cap is the only limit. The Lifetime ISA (LISA) retains its own £4,000 annual contribution limit, which counts within the £20,000 total. Junior ISAs have a separate £9,000 limit and are not affected by the adult ISA changes. Previous-year ISA balances can always be transferred between providers without affecting the annual allowance -- this was true both before and after the rule change. The rule change also means that when you transfer an ISA mid-year, you are no longer obliged to close the original provider completely before subscribing elsewhere in that category. If you have already subscribed to one cash ISA, you can now switch provider mid-year and continue contributing. Use an ISA calculator to plan how to split your £20,000 across different providers and account types.
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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.