Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has shared the leading cash ISA and shares ISA rates to consider before the April 5 tax year deadline, with top rates at 4.68%
A financial guru has disclosed some of the “leading” savings accounts to put your cash in before an April deadline. On his Money Saving Expert (MSE) platform, Martin Lewis spotlighted some of the best ISAs currently available.
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) allows individuals to save cash and receive tax-free interest. There’s a yearly limit on how much you can store in an ISA. Currently, this limit sits at £20,000 for the 2025/26 year, with the fresh financial year starting in April. Whilst the threshold is anticipated to remain unchanged for the following year, you have until April 5 to maximise this year’s savings allowances.
Martin stated: “Your money’s nicer in an ISA, and now it’s use it or lose it time! Top cash ISAs pay 4.68 per cent, beating normal savings, though long-term shares ISAs are likely the winner. The tax year, and thus the ISA year, ends on 5 April. Though it’s best not to leave it to the last minute as some providers shut their (virtual) doors early.”
“If you don’t use this year’s allowance, you lose it. The good news, though, is providers, as normal, are ramping up deals this time of year whilst the focus is on ISAs.”
Each tax year, every adult in the UK gets a £20,000 ISA allowance to set money aside tax-free in a cash ISA, or a shares (investment) ISA. “You can have all £20,000 in one, or split it across both types,” Martin clarified.
- Top variable cash ISAs Martin has highlighted the current “top” variable cash ISAs (bear in mind that “variable” implies the rate can fluctuate).
- Top rate for ISA transfers.
- Leading fixed cash ISAs.
These rates are guaranteed – meaning they won’t decrease. Martin recommended the following one-year fixes:
- Trading 212 – 4.68% including a year’s 1.08 per cent newbie bonus
- Plum – 4.66%
- Tembo – 4.55%
He also spotlighted these two-year fixes:
- Tandem Bank – 4.16% (min £1)
- Furness BS – 4.15% (min £1k)
- Nationwide – 4.05% (min £1)
According to Martin, the crucial things to understand about ISAs are:
- You can’t carry over your ISA allowance, so 5 April is the last date you can fill this year’s ISA. After that, it closes
- You get a new ISA allowance on 6 April. To explain, if you haven’t used your ISA this tax year, and have enough money, you could put £20,000 in now, and another £20,000 in on 6 April (using next tax year’s allowance). Even if you don’t have enough to use next year’s, if it’s right for you, get the money in now, in case you have more to put away next year
- Once money’s in an ISA it stays tax-free year after year. The limit is on how much new money you can put in within each tax year. There’s no total limit on what you can have in ISAs. Some now have £100,000s in cash ISAs, having used many years’ allowances, and there are some shares ISA millionaires
Changes for 2027
From 6 April 2027, the annual Cash ISA limit for individuals under 65 will be lowered to £12,000 as part of a new two-tier system intended to promote investment.
Despite the total ISA allowance remaining at £20,000, the residual £8,000 must be allocated to Stocks and Shares or Innovative Finance ISAs.
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