Lifetime ISA (LISA) Calculator

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) is one of the most generous savings vehicles in the UK tax code: pay in up to £4,000 in any tax year and the government adds a 25% bonus — up to £1,000 a year free, paid monthly straight into the account. The £4,000 LISA limit sits within the wider £20,000 ISA allowance, so contributing the maximum still leaves £16,000 of headroom for cash, stocks-and-shares or innovative finance ISAs. The bonus continues every year from age 18 until age 50; over a 32-year maximum span that is up to £32,000 of free money plus investment growth on top. You can open a LISA between ages 18 and 39. Once open you can contribute until your 50th birthday — even if you originally opened it for a first home that has long since completed. Money can be withdrawn without penalty for two purposes: buying your first home (property under £450,000, anywhere in the UK), or from age 60 in retirement. Any other withdrawal triggers a 25% government charge — which, because it applies to the gross balance including bonus, effectively claws back 6.25% of your own money. On a £10,000 withdrawal, you receive £7,500 — losing the bonus plus £625 of original capital. This calculator handles both modes. In first-home mode it shows projected pot size, the bonus accrued, and whether you will hit the £450,000 property cap timing. The minimum holding period is 12 months from your first contribution before you can withdraw for property. In retirement mode it projects compound growth to age 60 and beyond, assuming an investment return you specify (4-7% real return is reasonable for stocks-and-shares LISAs). For most first-time buyers under 40 who are confident they will buy under £450,000, the LISA beats every other home-deposit vehicle including the closed Help to Buy ISA. For higher earners with maxed pensions it is also a useful supplementary retirement pot — there is no income tax relief upfront like a pension, but withdrawals after 60 are entirely tax-free (unlike a pension where 75% is taxable). The calculator does not handle Skipton’s LISA mortgage discount, the Moneybox cash-LISA bonus timing quirk, or the property-cap edge cases around shared ownership staircasing. For full deposit modelling combine with our Mortgage Affordability calculator.