Savings account Guides

Switching share ISAs

Updated: Wednesday 8 June, 2011

By Hazel Cottrell - hazel.cottrell@consumerchoices.co.uk

It should be fairly straight forward to transfer your shares ISA but, to ensure your tax-free wrapper remains in place, you’ve got to follow the rules.

Compare Share ISAs

You can transfer your stocks and shares ISA to another ISA manager whenever you want.

However, in order to continue benefiting from the tax breaks on any investments sheltered in your ISA it's essential that the money is transferred rather than withdrawn and reinvested.

You cannot transfer your ISA by closing it, withdrawing the cash value of your investments and opening a new ISA with the new ISA manager.

Instead you should ask your new ISA manager to arrange the transfer for you.

Your existing ISA manager cannot stop you transferring but, depending on the terms and conditions you have agreed to, you may be required to pay a charge or sell any existing in investments in the ISA and transfer cash to your new manager.

What can I transfer?

Investments within a stocks and shares ISA can only be transferred to another stocks and shares ISA. Money within a cash ISA orcan be transferred to another cash ISA OR to a stocks and shares ISA.

How much can I transfer?

If you want to transfer the money you have invested in your ISA in the current tax year, you must transfer all of it.

For money invested in previous years, you can generally choose whether to transfer all or some of it; however some ISA managers do request that you transfer all of it.

You can move all your old ISAs into one single account if you choose, as the annual allowance applies to the amount you put in each tax year, not your balance.

When you move your old ISA there is no need to pay in any more money - this money is simply being transferred and doesn’t count towards the current year’s allowance.