AN INTRODUCTION TO ISAs

When Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) first appeared in 1999, as a replacement for PEPs and TESSAs, they were a relatively straightforward offering. In the 19 years since, complication has set in. The point has now been reached where the May 2018 report on savings tax from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) suggested that “there is scope for a wider full review of the current ISA landscape, to make the regime simpler and more accessible”.

The government’s website says there are only four types of ISA – cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs, and Lifetime ISAs – but variants exist for specific investment needs.

This guide will explain how five types work, in order of their original launch date.

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