ISA (Individual Savings Account) Advice Kent Ashford Maidstone Canterbury

Individual savings accounts (ISA) were introduced in April 1999. They replaced TESSAs and PEPs and are effectively a tax wrapper within which investors may hold a range of different investments. The big advantage of ISA is that interest & capital gains are tax-free: gains on investments held outside an ISA are liable to income tax and/ or capital gains tax.

Savers can invest up to £10,680 in the tax year 2011/12. It is important to use as much of your annual allowance as you can each tax year as it cannot be carried over into the next financial year.

Since the introduction of tax free savings in April 1999 those who have made full use of their annual allowances every year will have sheltered over £90,000. That figure doesn’t include capital growth, so many people will have ISA investments worth far more than that, depending on where their money is invested.

You can open one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA each tax year. Up to £5,340 can be invested in a cash ISA. The remainder of your allowance can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA. Alternatively, you can just open a single stocks and shares ISA and invest the full amount in that.

Various non-cash assets can be held within a stocks and shares ISA. These include unit trusts, open ended investment companies (OEICS) investment trusts, exchange traded funds, shares or bonds.

Contact Us for independent financial advice on all aspects of ISA  savings, investment and wealth management. We are based in Ashford and also serve Maidstone & Canterbury in Kent; as well as London and the South East.