UK tax reference
ISA allowance history
How much you've been allowed to pay into ISAs each tax year, from launch in 1999 to today. Currently £20,000, unchanged since 2017/18.
| Tax year | Allowance | Cash limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1999/00 ISAs launched on 6 April 1999, replacing Personal Equity Plans (PEPs) and Tax-Exempt Special Savings Accounts (TESSAs). Until April 2008 there were mini and maxi ISAs: a maxi ISA took up to £7,000 a year, of which up to £3,000 could be cash. | £7,000 | £3,000 |
| 2000/01 - 2007/08 Unchanged until April 2008. The separate life insurance ISA was abolished in April 2005. | £7,000 | £3,000 |
| 2008/09 Mini and maxi ISAs replaced by cash and stocks & shares ISAs, under one overall limit. | £7,200 | £3,600 |
| 2009/10 The higher limits applied from 6 October 2009 to anyone aged 50 or over. | £7,200 or £10,200 | £3,600 or £5,100 |
| 2010/11 The higher limits for everyone. | £10,200 | £5,100 |
| 2011/12 Junior ISAs began, with a separate limit of £3,600 a child. | £10,680 | £5,340 |
| 2012/13 | £11,280 | £5,640 |
| 2013/14 | £11,520 | £5,760 |
| 2014/15 From 1 July 2014 every ISA became a New ISA (NISA): one limit, all of which could be cash. | £11,880 then £15,000 | £5,940 then £15,000 |
| 2015/16 The Help to Buy ISA opened in December 2015 (closed to new accounts in November 2019). | £15,240 | £15,240 |
| 2016/17 The Innovative Finance ISA, for peer-to-peer lending, from 6 April 2016. | £15,240 | £15,240 |
| 2017/18 The Lifetime ISA arrived: up to £4,000 a year, which counts towards the overall limit rather than on top of it. | £20,000 | £20,000 |
| 2018/19 - 2026/27 Unchanged since 2017/18: 10 tax years in a row. | £20,000 | £20,000 |
The cash limit is how much of the allowance could go into cash ISAs. From 2027/28 it depends on age: £12,000 under 65, all of it at 65 and over. Junior ISAs have their own limit, separate from both.
Cash ISAs from 6 April 2027
From 6 April 2027, savers under 65 can put at most £12,000 a year into Cash ISAs. The overall £20,000 limit stays the same, so the other £8,000 can go into Stocks & Shares, Innovative Finance or Lifetime ISAs. Savers 65 and over can still put the full £20,000 into cash.
The allowance is a use-it-or-lose-it limit that resets every 6 April - whatever you don't use never carries over to the next tax year.
Sources: HMRC annual savings statistics, HMRC ISA statistics, June 2020 (PDF), gov.uk: Lifetime ISA.