ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) are a way of saving without paying income tax. This guide provides you with information on ISAs, the different types and how much you can save this tax year. The favourable tax treatment of ISAs may be subject to change in the future and depends on your individual circumstances.
Already have a Santander ISA, but have a question?
How many ISAs can I have?
You can have more than one Santander cash ISA but only one Santander Stocks and Shares ISA.
But you can only pay into one of each type in the same tax year.
For example, you can hold two cash ISAs and one stocks and shares ISA.
I am trying to do an ISA transfer into Santander, but it will not accept my
roll number
If your roll number is not accepted on the Santander cash ISA transfer form, please remove any special characters (e.g. – or / ). You’ll then be able to submit the form, and we’ll start working on your transfer.
For example, if your roll number looks like this: 12345A-12345, remove the ‘-’, so it reads 12345A12345.
How long does transferring in a cash ISA take?
It can take up to 30 days for your money to reach us, once we receive your request to transfer in money from another provider.
Check your Key Facts Document for more details.
HMRC ISA changes - effective on 6 April 2024
After 6 April 2024, you won't be able to open a new adult cash ISA with Santander if you're 16 or 17. You'll be able to open one when you turn 18. You can open a Junior ISA if you’d like one.
If you opened your cash ISA before 6 April 2024, there aren’t many changes.
- You can keep paying into your cash ISA after 6 April 2024.
- You can pay into one cash ISA per tax year.
- You can transfer any other existing cash ISAs you hold with us or another provider, to an existing cash ISA with us. Any money paid in, in the current tax year must be transferred in full.
- You can upgrade your ISA at the end of the term.
You may find that some documents you need to fill in to upgrade or pay into your ISA will say you need to be 18+. That doesn't apply to you, because you already have one. But if you're unsure, just get in touch and we'll confirm it for you.
At Santander, we’ve made some changes from 6 April 2024.
- We’ve updated our ISA declarations to reflect the changes from HMRC. You might be asked to sign one of these when you open your account or if you haven’t paid into your ISA for a full tax year.
- We’re no longer allowing 16 and 17 year olds to open cash ISAs with us. You'll be able to open one when you turn 18. You can open a Junior ISA if you’d like one.
We’ve not made any other changes at this time. This means you can still only pay into one cash ISA with us. You’ll also need to complete a new declaration where you haven’t paid in to your cash ISA for a full tax year. If you choose to transfer your ISA elsewhere, you must transfer any money you have paid into it in the current tax year, in full.
Other providers may offer changes under the new rules. These could include:
- Allowing partial transfers of current tax year subscriptions.
- Letting you pay into more than one ISA of the same type within the same tax year.
You may find that some documents you need to fill in to upgrade or pay into your ISA will say you need to be 18+. That doesn't apply to you if you already have an ISA open. But if you're unsure, just get in touch and we'll confirm it for you.
Common questions
ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. The main benefit of an ISA is being able to save without paying income tax. The beneficial tax treatment of ISAs may change in the future and is dependent on individual circumstances.
Non-ISA savings accounts give you interest without deducting any tax (gross). Some accounts give the option of monthly and annual interest, while others, give you only one option.
If the total interest you receive exceeds your Personal Savings Allowance, you may have to pay tax on the interest. ISA interest does not count towards your Personal Savings Allowance.
The UK government sets an ‘annual allowance’ which is the total you can pay into all of your ISAs each tax year.
For the 2023/24 tax year, the limit is £20,000, and deposits can be made from 6 April 2023 up to and including 5 April 2024.
For the 2024/25 tax year, the limit is £20,000, and deposits can be made from 6 April 2024 up to and including 5 April 2025.
There are 4 types of ISAs:
- cash ISA
- stocks and shares ISA
- Innovative Finance ISA
- Lifetime ISA
Below are some examples with Santander:
Example 1 —You could pay £10,000 into a cash ISA and £10,000 into a stocks and shares ISA.
Example 2 — You could pay £20,000 into a cash ISA, but then you couldn’t pay any money into a stocks and shares ISA.
Example 3 — You could pay £20,000 into a stocks and shares ISA, but then you couldn’t pay any money into a cash ISA.
Santander offer cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs. Currently we don’t offer innovative finance ISAs or lifetime ISAs.
A cash ISA is cash saved in an account. With cash ISAs you don't have to pay tax on the interest you receive. Just like savings accounts, there are different types of cash ISAs.
- A variable rate cash ISA pays a variable rate of interest, but you can access them at any time. The interest rate can go up or down.
- A fixed rate cash ISA pays a fixed rate of interest where you know what interest rate you'll earn and for how long. If you withdraw from your ISA before the fixed term ends, you may be charged.
You can have more than one Santander cash ISA but only one Santander Stocks and Shares ISA.
A stocks and shares ISA is a tax-efficient way of investing. You don't pay tax on any income or capital gains from the investment. Investing is a form of saving that can potentially provide greater returns than a savings account. Though, all investments involves risks to your capital. which varies depending on the type of investment and should be held for at least 5 years.
1. When you’re ready to upgrade your ISA, first log into your Online Banking, this will speed things up for you. If you’re not logged in, make sure you have your ISA account details and National Insurance number. You’ll need these handy when it’s time to fill in your personal details.
2. If you’re logged in, from the drop-down menu next to your ISA, click ‘Upgrade’. If you’re not logged in, visit our Savings and ISAs page to take a look at our ISAs for your upgrade options.
3. Next, click on the ISA that you are interested in and then select ‘Upgrade’.
4. Take a moment to review the important bits and when you’re ready, accept the terms and click ‘Upgrade’.
5. You’ll then be asked to review and confirm some personal details, eligibility and choose an ISA upgrade that suits your savings goal.
6. That wraps it up! Congratulations on your new ISA upgrade!
You’ve reached your ISA annual allowance
There is a maximum of £20,000 you can pay into all of your ISAs in any tax year. This is known as an ‘annual allowance’. The tax year runs from 6th April in one year to 5th April the next.
If you take money out of your ISA, it will no longer be tax-free. If you pay it back into an ISA it will count towards your ISA annual allowance. To avoid this, please follow the transfer in process of the provider you're transferring into.
Example 1 — If you pay £10,000 into your Santander ISA, but then withdraw £5,000 from this ISA in the same tax year, your remaining ISA allowance would be £10,000 for that tax year.
Example 2 — If you pay £20,000 into your Santander ISA, but then withdraw £10,000 from this ISA in the same tax year, your remaining ISA allowance would be £0 for that tax year. This means you've reached your allowance for the tax year and can't pay any money into your ISA.
The above examples don't consider any amounts you may have paid into other ISAs in the same tax year.
ISA Transfers
You can put new money into an ISA, as well as transfer some or all of your money between ISAs or providers.
To keep your money tax-free when transferring between ISAs, you must arrange it as an ISA transfer. If you withdraw money from your ISA it will lose its tax-free status and if you pay it back into an ISA, this will count towards your annual allowance for the current tax year.
If your Child Trust Fund (CTF) is due to mature or has matured
You can transfer all or part of your maturing CTF, your matured CTF or Protected ISA to one of our cash ISAs. If your CTF is maturing, the transfer will only happen at the point of maturity, on your 18th birthday. You are allowed to transfer part of the money held in your account. Before doing that, you must tell your existing provider what you want to do with the rest of the money.
If you want to transfer your stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA
You can transfer your stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA. Keep in mind, for Santander stocks and shares ISAs, the ISA manager is Santander ISA Managers Limited. This means that transfers between Santander stocks and shares ISAs and Santander cash ISAs should be treated as transfers between ISA providers.
For more information on ISA transfers, please visit here.
It can take up to 30 days for your money to reach us, once we receive your request to transfer in money from another provider.
Check your Key Facts Document for more details.
For more information on ISA transfers, please visit here.
A roll number is the unique way of identifying your account within a building society when making an online payment.
Providers have different ways of formatting roll numbers. Some contain special characters. For example:
Virgin Money — 12345A-12345
Nationwide BS —1234/123456789
If your roll number is not accepted on the Santander cash ISA transfer form, please remove any special characters (e.g. – or / ). You’ll then be able to submit the form, and we’ll start working on your transfer.
For example, if your roll number looks like this: 12345A-12345, remove the ‘-’, so it reads 12345A12345.
You can combine all of your Santander cash ISA balances into one cash ISA. To combine your cash ISAs, please use the Santander Cash ISA transfer form found on our ISA transfers page.