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Home / Money / Savings Accounts / Savings Accounts Types / ISA Savings Accounts

ISA Savings Accounts

An ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a tax free method of saving. Money earned from a bank, in the form of interest, is seen as income and is liable to be taxed. However, with an ISA, the interest you earn is not taxed. Read more...>


Icesave Easy Access ISA 6.10% AER - open an account with £1000	6.10%	Instant Access
Virgin Climate Change ISA Invests in environmentally aware companies	0.00%	Instant Access

There are two different types of ISAs; 'cash' and 'stocks and shares'. Because they are tax free there are government restrictions surrounding them. There is a limit to how much you can save; a total of £7,200 per year, of which only £3,600 can be cash, you can only open one ISA each financial year plus, you are only allowed to add funds to one ISA during each finanical year.

With all savings accounts the interest rate is important and just because the ISA is tax free doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t compare available rates from different providers.

ISAs can appear complex because of the way that they are constructed which again comes down to government requirements.

A cash ISA will allow up to £3,600 cash to be invested.

A stocks and shares ISA also allows you to invest EITHER up to £3,600 in cash and up to £3,600 in stocks and shares OR anything up to the full £7,200 solely in stocks and shares.

Many investors choose simply to take advantage of the cash component of an ISA and take the £3,000 a year tax free basis for their savings earnings.

Top Tips

There is no catch, the government wants to encourage people to save and that’s why they support this tax free option
With a cash ISA you can have the cash component invested with one provider while the stocks and shares component is invested with another
Like other forms of saving check to see what the conditions of withdrawal of your money are. Can you access your money without penalty?
ISAs are given tax exemption by the government but they are available through many providers so shop around for a rate that suits you