Cash ISA at end of year

[LouisaMayAlcott]

I have never done this before so I’m hoping someone here has!

I have a cash isa and of course when it matures the interest rate will drop. I assume I need to transfer it to a new one to get a better interest rate for the new tax year? Do people do that every year to chase a better interest rate until you’ve run out of providers where you can open a new account? Do you have to close accounts as you transfer it elsewhere each year?

I keep researching rates for transfer cash isas (not S&S I’m too old to tie my money up for the next ten years) but I’m not sure if this is what everyone does or do you just leave it where it is with a lower interest rate?

You can have as many ISAs as you want. The old rule was that you could only open one Cash ISA with new money each year, probably so you didn't accidentally add too much new money.

You can add new money and transfer in to the same ISA or separate accounts. ISAs with maturity dates are usually fixed rate bonds. You can access the money in these by transferring out but you will pay a penalty of xx days interest.

Check Moneyfacts for interest rates.

To confirm I took out an isa on 30th March 2026 with £20k I can't add to it until 31st March 2027?

Thanks for posting this thread, OP - I just had a look at my Chip cash ISA and they're only paying me a crappy 3.55% so I'm going to transfer the money from my Chip to either Plum or Moneybox. I was hoping someone could please be kind and answer my question of whether I can transfer the £24k in my Chip ISA or am I limited to £20k?

No, you can add to it deom tomorrow. 31march was 25/26 tax year. Tomorrow is the start of a new tax year.

You can transfer as much as you want. The yearly limit only applies to new money.

It might not end at the end of the tax year, it might be the anniversary of when you opened it.

But the answer to your original question is yes, I move mine all the time. And I don't leave it to the end of the tax year (all I do then is make sure I've used my allowance). I check them constantly and look for better rates. I've got over £60k in cash ISAs so small changes in rates can make quite a difference.

It simply depends on the type of account as to when to move it. Some are fixed rate and have a "maturity" date, but most of mine are not.

You also never run out of providers because you can always go back to a previous provider if they have a better account.

New tax year starts 6th April, not tomorrow.

Sorry, tomorrow is 6th!

They don't all run for a fixed term, some are just open ended with variable rates.

You can transfer everything.

You can transfer whatever is in there - 24K, plus interest so far if that means closing the account. But you do need to make sure an account accepts transfers and pays the rate quoted for transferred money as well as new money. You mention Plum and Moneybox ISAs. I haven't looked at their current offers but Plum's headline grabbing rates previously have been for new money in ISAs, not transfers from other providers.

Thanks for the clarification about my transfer. After a lot of research I'm probably going to go with the one year fixed ISA provided by HSBC. It's 4.5% with a £150 bonus for my amount I'm transferring. Plum looked ideal but after reading the post above I noted the rate for transferred money was only 4.01% and 4.00% at Moneybag.

Chip are trying to make me and other customers stay with them until the end of next month with a competition to win one of only eleven prizes, which borders on the insulting!

I had an ISA with Kent Reliance which matured on 2 April and they automatically put it into their 4% interest ISA. However I had 14 days to move it into another account without incurring any loss if interest . They have a 4.35% ISA so I transferred it into that one. If I hadn’t bothered reading the correspondence it would be in the 4%.

I was just about to transfer mine to plum and add £20000 for this year as it is 4.5% for a 2 year isa. But HSBC sounds better so I'll take a look. Thankyou.

Thank you everyone who posted advice. I’ve opened a new one with Tembo and I’m in the process of transferring my old Plum one across.

Should have mentioned that you have to have a HSBC current account (perhaps you have one).

Santander also doing 4.5% plus incentives to transfer. Also only 120 days interest as a penalty if need be.

I'll have a look at Santander.
I don't get the tembo one.Its variable interest with an added bonus I think.
I just want to understand which one gives me the best annual interest. Variable and bonuses don't help my calculations.

You won’t be able to know how much interest you’ll accrue with a variable rate over a year, so you need to get a fixed rate ISA.

Account details should include an example of the interest you would earn over the next year if the rate stays the same even if it's a variable rate, and if you don't add to it. That rate may stay the same, go down or even go up.

Fixed rate ISAs are usually also for a fixed period of time, for 1 year, 2 years, until a particular date in 2027 or 2028. Often there is a penalty if you close the account early. This might be good for you if you have a lump sum to pay in or other savings to transfer to the account, you are confident that you won't need it for that time and therefore won't pay penalties etc, and you want the certainty of knowing how much you're going to get.

But if you think you might need to be able to access your savings or add to them, eg you plan to put in money from your wages or other future income that you don't have right now, you might be better with a variable rate and being able to add and withdraw money (limited or unlimited access). You can look at any interest calculation examples provided.

"Only 120 days interest" - if you may need to access your money, better to choose an account which offers some withdrawals - 120 days is almost a third of your interest.

I've not taken out any ISA money to spend for a few years - I think I did dip into some very old savings which were earning a very low rate of interest when money got very tight but that was maybe 6 or 7 years ago. But I have used the flexibility provided by limited access accounts to switch money for better variable rates a few times, and I've built up a bit of money that is available for spending in a non ISA instant access account - I don't have much income to worry about and this is well within the savings interest allowance available to a basic rate tax payer.