U3A Investment group web page Please let Janet know if you find this useful Cash Savings Every person can save up to £20,000 pa in an ISA and not pay any tax on the interest (including Capital Gains Tax (see below). That money will never be taxed so long as it stays in the ISA. Not all Cash ISAs are the same Click here to read about ‘flexible ISAs’ and how to get money out of a Cash ISA and put it back. Changes to ISA reforms from April 2024 - Martin Aitken Other changes to be introduced from April 2024 include: Partial transfers between ISA providers will be possible during the tax year. For example, if £15,000 has been paid into a cash ISA since 6 April, £5,000 could be moved to a different provider. Currently, the whole £15,000 would have to be moved. Below are the Martin Lewis’s ISA rates as at 28/2/24. Click here to go to his ISA page for the latest rates. All have Financial Services Compensation Scheme savings protection of up to £85,000. Top easy access ISA rates shown are: Moneybox 5.09% Zopa 5.08% Virgin Money 5.06% Charter Savings Bank 5.03% Harpenden BS 5.01% One year ISA rates shown are: Shawbrook Bank 5.03% OakNorth Bank 5.02% Aldermore 5% Virgin Money 5.25% Two year ISA rates are: Shawbrook Bank 4.69% UBL UK 4.68% Zopa 4.67% The three year rates are even lower at present, so best to leave them for a while. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Watch out for these ‘catches’ when comparing Savings accounts, the small print can mean you are not getting as good a return as you think you are. Click here to read the article. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Click here for an article on Hargreaves Lansdown ISA wrapper for savings. Other platforms will follow. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** The Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) tax gap; currently £1000 pa (£500 for higher tax payers) From Money Saving Expert web site So April 2021 when the bank rate was 0.1%, April 2023 it was 4.25% On £20,000 you would get £20 interest in 2021, but £850 interest (flat rate) Current rate is 5.25% so that would be £1050 At the current rate (17/9/23) you need £16250 at the highest rate to go over the PSA (MSE) *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Capital Gains Tax 2023/24 capital gains tax Annual exempt amount £6,000 for individuals Standard CGT rate 18% on residential property, 10% on other assets Higher CGT rate 28% on residential property, 20% on other assets Your rate of CGT will depend on your other taxable income. See Gov.uk for more on how to work this out, and for more on the increased annual exempt amount, see this Gov.uk webpage. You have 60 days from the completion of the sale of your property to report and pay your capital gains tax to HM Revenue & Customs. The government seems to be reducing the Capital Gains Allowance each year, so gains from selling shares or investments like property (not lived in by yourself) or longer term investments such as whiskey or art, need careful consideration and planning. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***