How many ISAs can I have?
New ISA rules mean savers can open and pay into multiple ISAs of the same type. But is this change available to everyone? We look at how many ISAs you can have in the current tax year
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Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) are a tax-efficient way of saving or investing your cash – but how many can you hold?
Savers can add up to £20,000 into ISAs each tax year, and any interest, dividends or capital gains earned on the money is tax-free. There are different types of ISAs – for example, cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs.
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That said, ISA providers don’t have to follow the new framework, and the new multiple ISA rules don’t apply to Lifetime ISAs and Junior ISAs.
The overall £20,000 tax-free annual ISA allowance has not changed, but the shake-up means savers now have the ability to spread that allowance across a wider pool of accounts and providers.
Can I open two cash ISAs in one year?
You can now open more than one cash ISA in the same tax year after the rule change came into effect on 6 April 2024. You could open several accounts if you like, for example, four cash ISAs. You can also open more than one stocks and shares ISA in any tax year.
You can’t, however, pay into more than one Lifetime ISA or Junior ISA as these were not included in the rule change.
Also note that not all ISA providers allow you to open multiple cash ISAs or stocks and shares ISAs.
Which banks and building societies allow customers to open more than one cash ISA in a tax year?
MoneyWeek asked a range of high-street banks and building societies whether they accept applications from ISA holders who already hold a cash ISA elsewhere, or with them. Here is what each one said.
HSBC
A customer holding a cash ISA with another provider can apply for a HSBC cash ISA in the same tax year. However, you can’t hold more than one HSBC cash ISA per tax year.
Santander
Santander accepts applications from those holding cash ISAs with another provider, but you can only hold or pay into one Santander cash ISA each tax year.
Lloyds Bank
Customers can open a cash ISA with Lloyds Bank while holding one with another provider, but can’t open two or more cash ISAs with just Lloyds.
Barclays lets customers hold a cash ISA with the bank and another provider and also multiple cash ISAs held with Barclays.
Nationwide Building Society customers can hold multiple Nationwide cash ISAs at one time. They can also hold a cash ISA with Nationwide and one or more with other providers.
Yorkshire Building Society (YBS)
Yorkshire Building Society only allows customers to open and hold one cash ISA per tax year with it. Customers can hold cash ISAs with other providers though.
Skipton Building Society
Skipton Building Society accepts ISA applications from customers who already hold a cash ISA elsewhere. You can also hold one more than one cash ISA just with Skipton.
Coventry Building Society
Coventry Building Society only allows customers to hold one cash ISA with it at one time. However, they can hold one with Coventry and one or more with another provider.
Hargreaves Lansdown
Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown launched a cash ISA platform in 2024, under its Active Savings platform.
However, you cannot hold more than one type of cash ISA with the firm at one time.
Which investment firms allow customers to have more than one stocks and shares ISA?
Hargreaves Lansdown told MoneyWeek that its customers can open multiple stocks and shares ISAs with different providers within the same tax year.
AJ Bell and Fidelity also said that they allow customers to have subscriptions to multiple ISAs with other providers.
In fact, all the investment platforms we asked said they would allow ISA customers to open and/or pay into stocks and shares ISAs with rival platforms during the same tax year.
ISA provider | Do you allow customers to open and contribute to more than one stocks and shares ISA in a tax year? |
Bestinvest | Yes |
Moneybox | Yes |
Hargreaves Lansdown | Yes |
AJ Bell | Yes |
Fidelity | Yes |
Charles Stanley Direct | Yes |
Is now a good time to open an ISA?
It is never too late to start saving or investing.
If you’re looking to open a stocks and shares ISA, research by Hargreaves Lansdown shows that early bird investors are better off, although you can usually still make money over the long term whenever you begin.
It may also be a good time to open a cash ISA right now – you'll escape paying tax on any savings interest, plus if you fix for a year or two you won’t be affected by any further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England. The Bank of England has said if inflation continues to slow there “should be scope for some further cuts to bank rate” in 2026.
We explain how to find the best stocks and shares ISA for your circumstances in a separate guide.
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