The ISA clock is ticking

Just three months lie between investors and the last chance to top up 2009-2010 ISA allowances

Holly Cook | 04-01-10 | E-mail Article

April 5, 2010 marks the official start of the new tax year, which gives investors exactly three months to take advantage of tax free savings for the 2009-2010 tax year and to look into which Individual Savings Allowance (ISA) vehicles to buy into for the 2010-2011 tax year.

The idea behind the ISA when it was launched by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1999 was to encourage individuals to save by allowing them to wrap up stocks, cash and insurance in one account. Placing investments in an ISA tax efficient “wrapper” means that any growth from an investment held within an ISA will not be liable for capital gains tax, and any interest gained from either cash or bond holdings within an ISA will not be liable for income tax.

The current total amount that can be placed in an ISA is £7,200, though now-Chancellor Alistair Darling raised this ceiling to £10,200 at the last pre-Budget report for all those of 50 years or over. This amount can either all be invested in a stocks and shares ISA, or up to half the total amount--£3,600, or £5,100 if you are over 50--can be placed in a cash ISA. Only one cash ISA is allowed per financial year so if you want to save the full £7,200 (or £10,200) anything you don't put in a cash ISA can be stored in a stocks and shares ISA. Savers under 50 will get this same increase from April 6, 2010. Recent government statistics show that over 19 million people currently have an ISA but only a little more than five million currently use their full ISA allowance--that's 14 million people missing out on tax-free savings, not to mention those that don't yet use these investment vehicles for saving.

As the end of this tax year draws closer, it's worth remembering that if you have money saved from a previous tax year you can transfer some or all of the money from a cash ISA to a stocks and shares ISA without this affecting your annual ISA investment allowance.

Furthermore, you must be over 18 years of age to buy a stocks and shares ISA but only 16 to hold a cash ISA so this can be a useful tool for getting younger generations into the habit of saving early. This article gives further information on getting young people interested in investing, while here you will find tips for investing newbies.

Use our ISA QuickRank on Morningstar.co.uk's ISA page to research available ISA funds and this document from HM Revenue & Customs provides more basic information on investing in ISAs (you will need Adobe Reader to view this document).

Holly Cook is Site Editor of Morningstar.co.uk and Hemscott.com. She would like to hear from you but cannot give financial advice. You can contact the author via this feedback form.
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