As the final countdown to the end of the current tax year approaches, it’s time to start looking forward and consider how the ISA landscape for UK investors is going to seriously shift over the next few years.
Most of the significant incoming changes revolve around the stocks and shares ISA. There are some notable adjustments being made to the rules and to people’s individual tax-free allowances for dividends and gains.
Here’s what UK investors should know about investment ISAs today, and what the incoming evolution of ISAs will look like in the coming years.
What are the current stocks and shares ISA rules?
As it stands, you can only open and pay into one stocks and shares ISA during the 2023/24 tax year.
You’re able to invest part, or all of your £20,000 yearly allowance into an investment ISA. Using this tax wrapper protects your investments from UK dividend and capital gains tax (CGT).
Currently, you have a dividend tax-free allowance of £1,000 and a capital gains tax-free allowance of £6,000. You’ll have to pay tax on any dividends or profits over these thresholds if your investments aren’t held in an ISA wrapper (or a pension).
How will investment ISAs change next tax year?
There are a few incoming changes to stocks and shares ISAs next tax year.
One big change to the ISA system is that, after 6 April 2024, you’ll be able to open and pay into more than one stocks and shares ISA each tax year.
This gives you the flexibility to open multiple investments ISA with different providers. And therefore make the most of each platform’s strengths.
A less significant change is that you’ll be able to carry out partial ISA transfers. This will let you make the most of your new ability to open and pay into multiple investment ISAs. For example, you may want to move your investment fund holdings to another platform but keep your individual shares where they are.
ISA wrappers are also going to become more important than ever because your tax-free allowances will be halved from 6 April 2024.
You’ll only have a £500 tax-free dividend allowance and a £3,000 capital gains tax-free allowance. Using an ISA is the best way to protect yourself today (and in the future) from any potential UK taxes on investments.
The need to get investments shielded from potential tax has also led to a surge in “Bed and ISA” requests in the UK. This involves instructing your investing platform to sell your current investments and then repurchase everything within an ISA wrapper.
Some platforms only charge you for the repurchase and not the sale, so this can be a cheaper way to move your portfolio into an ISA rather than selling everything and buying all the assets again yourself.
What else is in the works for stocks and shares ISAs?
Along with more account flexibility and reducing tax-free allowances, the latest change to hit the headlines is the introduction of the “UK ISA”.
The government is currently engaging in a consultation process until June 2024 to test the waters and get feedback on the idea of a British ISA. The idea is that investors will get an additional £5,000 ISA allowance to invest in UK shares (on top of the existing £20,000 yearly allowance).
Finder statistics show that the average yearly amount put into a stocks and shares ISA is around £9,000 – far below the £20,000 allowance. So, getting an extra £5,000 to invest in UK companies is only going to benefit a small number of ISA subscribers.
However, if you are someone who’s currently maxing out your ISA allowance each year, an extra £5,000 may be useful to shelter more of your portfolio from UK tax. Although, you will be limited to investing in UK businesses with that extra allowance.
About the author
George Sweeney DipFA is a deputy editor at Finder.com, specialising in investing. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, and Online Mortgage Advisor. George is a qualified financial adviser and is regularly quoted in the national media about investing and personal finance.
This article originally appeared on finder.com/uk and was syndicated by Mediafeed.org.
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