How Many Stocks and Shares ISAs Can You Have?

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) offer a tax-efficient way for individuals to save and invest. These accounts shield savings and investments from UK income tax and capital gains tax, allowing money to grow without the burden of annual tax declarations on interest, dividends, or investment profits. This significant tax advantage makes ISAs a popular choice for maximizing returns over time.

The Annual Rule for Stocks and Shares ISAs

You are permitted to subscribe to only one new Stocks and Shares ISA in any given tax year. This means that if you contribute new funds to a Stocks and Shares ISA with one provider between April 6th and April 5th of the following year, you cannot open another Stocks and Shares ISA and add new money to it during that same period. Subscribing to a new ISA involves placing fresh funds into the account for the current tax year. The purpose of this rule is to streamline the tax-efficient savings process and prevent individuals from spreading their annual allowance across an excessive number of identical accounts. This regulation focuses specifically on the act of making new contributions, rather than merely holding existing accounts.

Understanding Different ISA Types

Beyond the Stocks and Shares ISA, the UK ISA landscape includes several other types, each designed for different savings goals. These typically include Cash ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, and Innovative Finance ISAs. While you can only subscribe to one Stocks and Shares ISA in a tax year, you are generally allowed to open and contribute new money to one of each type of ISA within the same tax year. For example, an individual could open and contribute to a Stocks and Shares ISA, a Cash ISA, and an Innovative Finance ISA all within the same tax year. Each of these would be considered a separate type of ISA. This flexibility allows savers to diversify their tax-efficient holdings across different investment strategies, provided they adhere to the overall annual contribution limits.

Managing Multiple ISAs Through Transfers

While the “one per tax year” rule applies to new subscriptions, it does not prevent individuals from holding numerous ISAs from previous tax years. Transferring funds between ISAs is a mechanism that allows for consolidation or movement of savings without breaking the annual subscription rule. When transferring an ISA, it is important to distinguish between current year subscriptions and previous year subscriptions. If transferring money contributed in the current tax year, the entire amount must typically be transferred, while funds from previous tax years can often be transferred in full or in part, providing greater flexibility. Initiating an ISA transfer does not count as opening a “new” ISA for the purpose of the one-per-year rule, allowing savers to manage their portfolio efficiently.

Annual Contribution Limits

The annual ISA allowance dictates the maximum amount of new money an individual can save across all their ISAs in a single tax year. For the 2025/2026 tax year, this allowance is £20,000. This limit applies collectively across all ISA types an individual holds. For instance, if you contribute £5,000 to a Cash ISA and £4,000 to a Lifetime ISA (which has its own £4,000 annual limit), you would have £11,000 remaining of your overall £20,000 allowance to distribute among other ISA types, such as a Stocks and Shares ISA or an Innovative Finance ISA. Any unused allowance from a tax year does not roll over; it is a “use it or lose it” allowance that resets with each new tax year on April 6th.