What is a Flexible ISA?
Find out how Flexible ISAs work, and how you can easily make more of your ISA allowance.
Important information
This article gives you information to help you make the most of your money, but it isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure if a certain action is right for you, please ask for advice.
Last Updated: 7 April 2025
Important information - This is not personal advice. Fixed rates only allow access to funds at maturity.
How do Flexible ISAs work?
Each tax year, you can put up to £20,000 into ISAs. Usually, when you withdraw from your ISA, you do not get that portion of your allowance back.
But with a Flexible ISA, you can put money in and take it back out within the same tax year and it won’t affect your annual £20,000 ISA allowance.
Example
It’s a new tax year, and you top up your Flexible ISA with £5,000. Your ISA has £5,000 in it, and your remaining ISA allowance is £15,000.
In the same tax year, you withdraw £5,000 from your ISA. As you have a Flexible ISA, you get £5,000 added back to your allowance.
Withdrawing from Flexible Cash ISAs
You can withdraw money from both current and previous years’ deposits. To avoid it counting towards your current year’s ISA allowance, you must pay it back within the same tax year.
If interest from your ISA is paid into a different savings or current account, it’s treated as a withdrawal. You can still pay this amount back into your Flexible ISA within the same tax year without it affecting your annual ISA allowance.
Transferring Flexible ISAs
If you switch to an ISA provider that doesn’t offer flexibility, any withdrawals made after the transfer will count toward your annual ISA allowance if you want to pay them back.
Open an award-winning HL Cash ISA
It’s not a Flexible Cash ISA, but it is a Cash ISA with more flex.
Normally, savers are either chasing rates from bank to bank, or saving themselves the hassle and staying in one place but getting a poor rate.
The HL Cash ISA brings rates to you. You can earn tax-free interest from multiple banks in one account.
Apply once through HL, pick what suits you, then switch available cash between banks when your needs change.
Mix easy access and fixed rates and manage everything in one place.
Tax rules for ISAs can change and their benefits depend on your personal circumstances.
Some of the best rates through HL
Easy access
Pays a variable interest rate. Withdraw money at any time - it usually takes 1 working day.
Limited access
Pays a variable interest rate. Limited number of money withdrawals without penalty.
Fixed rate
Pays a fixed interest rate for the length of the term. Withdraw money at the end of the term.
Up to
A E RUp to
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A E RUp to
A E RProducts pay interest tax free and this rate can differ to the AER. Minimum deposits apply. Frequency of interest payments varies. AER (Annual Equivalent Rate) shows what the interest rate/expected profit rate would be if it was paid and compounded once each year. It helps you compare the rates on different savings products. You could be charged for withdrawing from fixed rate Cash ISAs before the term ends.
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