DOWNLOAD: Making the most of ISAs

UPDATED: April 2026
AN INTRODUCTION TO ISAs

Individual Savings Accounts, universally known as ISAs, began as relatively simple savings plans 27 years ago, but since then the rules surrounding them have become ever more complex and, following the Autumn 2025 Budget, will yet become more so.

Rachel Reeves announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 that she would freeze ISA subscription limits at their current levels through to 2030/31. In the same Budget she also introduced her plan to impose restrictions on cash ISAs for the under-65s and replace Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) with a new Help to Buy ISA.

The government’s website says there are currently only four categories of ISA – cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs, and (short-lived) LISAs – but variants exist for specific investment needs.

This guide will explain how the main variants work, in order of their original launch date.

Please note that all examples included in this guide are fictitious

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