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Stocks and Shares ISA

Stocks and shares ISA Allowance

ISA Allowance 2025/2026

Important information: Investing for longer increases the likelihood of positive returns. Over a period of five years or more, investments usually give you a higher return compared to cash savings. But investments can go down as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you put in.

This isn’t personal advice – please ask us for advice if you’re not sure which investments are right for you. ISA and tax rules can change and benefits depend on your circumstances.

The ISA allowance this tax year is £20,000

You're free to split your ISA allowance any way you like across a Stocks and Shares ISA, Cash ISA, Lifetime ISA (maximum of £4,000) and an Innovative Finance ISA, as long as you stay within the overall limit.

For example, you could put £5,000 in a Cash ISA, £4,000 in a Lifetime ISA and the remaining £11,000 in a Stocks and Shares ISA.

The allowance is smaller for Junior ISAs. The limit this tax year is £9,000.

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, and the deadline for adding money is midnight 5 April.

ISA allowances for the 2025/2026 tax year

Account Maximum contributions (2025/2026) Eligibility
Stocks and Shares ISA

£20,000 per year
  • UK resident
  • Aged 18+
Lifetime ISA

£4,000 per year until age 50 (contributions also count towards your £20,000 ISA allowance)
  • UK resident
  • Aged 18-39
Junior Stocks and Shares ISA

£9,000 per year
  • Parents or guardians can open a Junior ISA for their child, if the child is a UK resident
  • Anyone born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 who is under 18 will need to have transferred their Child Trust Fund to a Junior ISA to open an account
Cash ISA

£20,000 per year
  • UK resident
  • Aged 18+ for the HL Cash ISA. You can open one from 16 with other providers

Compare ISAs in more detail

Open an HL Stocks and Shares ISA

Once you've decided to invest your ISA allowance, it takes less than five minutes to get started. You'll just need a debit card and your National Insurance number to hand. Remember that your investments can go down as well as up in value, so you may get back less than you invest.

Two simple ways to start a Stocks and Shares ISA

Open a new ISA

Get started from as little as £100.

  • Make a one-off debit card payment and top up whenever you like
  • Choose from a range of investments when you’re ready
  • Ideas and support to help you get off to a great start
Open an ISA

Set up a Direct Debit

Pay into an ISA from £25 each month.

  • Invest automatically each month
  • Start, stop, increase or decrease your Direct Debit whenever you like
  • Ideas and support to help you get off to a great start
Open an ISA

More about ISA limits and rules

  • Each tax year there's a limited amount of money you can put in an ISA. This limit is set by the government and is called the ISA allowance. In the 2025/2026 tax year, the allowance is £20,000.

    You can split the ISA allowance across any combination of different ISAs but it’s your responsibility to ensure you stay within the £20,000 limit. You can mix and match between Stocks and Shares, Innovative Finance and Cash ISAs but Lifetime ISAs work differently – you can only open one Lifetime ISA each tax year - read more in our Lifetime ISA section.

    It's a good idea to use as much of the ISA allowance as you can, because that way you'll be making the most of the ISA tax break for your money.

  • Transferring does not count towards your ISA allowance, which is £20,000 for the 2025/2026 tax year. Find out more about transferring an ISA to us.

  • Once you’ve opened your HL Stocks and Shares ISA, you can choose where to invest your ISA allowance.

    Pick from funds, shares, investment trusts and ETFs, or choose one of our ready-made ISA portfolios.

  • If you’re married or in a civil partnership, your surviving spouse or partner can apply for extra ISA allowance, called an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS). It allows your ISA to be transferred to your partner and increases their ISA allowance for that year.

    Find out more about APS

Best Buy ISA 2023 Boring Money Awards 2022
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The Personal Finance Awards 2023/2024

Help and support

If you have any questions about the ISA allowance, call our helpdesk or send us a message.

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