Lloyds Bank ISAs

What’s an ISA?

An ISA is an ‘individual savings account’. You can open one if you’re over 16 (18 for some products, including stocks and shares ISAs) and live in the UK. Any interest you earn on money you put in an ISA is tax-free, so it’s a worthwhile investment to make.

If you’re eligible to open an ISA, there’s a limit to how much money you can put in. This limit changes every financial year; for 2017/2018 the limit is £20,000. You can have more than one ISA, but you can’t go over your allowance in any one financial year.

Standard savings accounts, on the other hand, are liable to tax. If you’re a lower-rate taxpayer, you can earn up to £1,000 interest tax free; any interest you earn after that is subject to tax. For higher-rate taxpayers, the allowance is £500. If you earn £17,000 or less each year, you won’t pay any tax on your savings interest at all.

If you’ve got kids and have parental responsibility, then you can also invest money in a Junior ISA on their behalf. For the 2017/2018 financial year, the limit for a Junior ISA is £4,128.

So, what ISAs does Lloyds offer?

Lloyds offers four ISAs, including a junior one. You can open a basic cash ISA with just £1, make as many withdrawals as you like and also manage your account online, by phone or in branch. It’s also flexible – which is good thing. If you withdraw money from your ISA but pay it back in the same financial year, then it won’t count towards your allowance. It’s a handy feature because it means you can take out what you need and not worry about missing out on your overall allowance.

If you can afford to leave your money untouched, then the fixed-rate cash ISA might be worth considering. The minimum deposit is £3,000. You can withdraw your money if you really need to, but you’ll lose some tax-free interest.

Lloyds offers a help-to-buy ISA, which is a government-backed scheme aimed at helping first-time home buyers. In the first month, you can deposit up to £1,000 to kick-start your savings; after that, you can save up to £200 per month.  When you’re ready to buy your house, the conveyancer claims your bonus, which is paid by the government. For every £200 you save, the government adds £50. The maximum bonus that can be paid is £3,000, and that’s on a savings balance of £12,000. You can continue putting money into the ISA after you’ve reached £12,000, until you’re ready to buy your first home. You can use a help-to-buy ISA to buy a house costing up to £250,000 outside London and up to £450,000 in some areas of London.

The Lloyds junior ISA can be opened with £1. As with all junior ISAs, the money stays in the account until the child reaches 18 (and only they can withdraw it – so hands off, mum and dad).

If you have a Child Trust Fund, then you can transfer the investment into a Lloyds junior ISA, or you can continue to top up the Child Trust Fund. It’s worth noting that you can’t have both a junior ISA and a Child Trust Fund – it’s one or the other. 

Compare ISA rates

If you already bank with Lloyds, it might be tempting to open an ISA with them too, but is that really the best you can do with your money? The whole point of an ISA is to get the biggest return on your investment – whether that’s £1 or £100. So, don’t just go for the first one you see – comparethemarket.com instead. That way you can be confident that your money’s being nurtured.

All information correct as of 31 March 2017.