Cash ISA limit rules from Monday as savers urged to add money to accounts | Personal Finance | Finance
Cash ISA savers must act before 11pm on Sunday (Image: Getty)
Savers with Cash ISAs are being urged to act before Monday or they will lose their remaining allowance forever.
This Monday, April 6 marks the beginning of the new 2026-27 tax year, and with it comes a reset for Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs, with a new limit in place for the coming 12 month financial year set at £20,000 – for the final time.
On Monday at just after midnight, the 2025-2026 tax year will end, and the £20,000 Cash ISA limit for the year will expire. It means that if you still have unused allowance, for example you have only deposited £18,000, you will lose the other £2,000 of your allowance from Monday morning.
Experts at Nottingham Building Society are warning savers to make sure they use up all their allowances as soon as possible without leaving it to the last minute.
It said: “ISA season sees a surge in activity in the weeks leading up to April. Activity typically peaks in the final days before the deadline, and higher volumes can occasionally lead to processing delays across the industry.
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“Many savers therefore choose to make contributions earlier in the season to avoid potential last‑minute bottlenecks. Leaving plenty of time will guarantee that everything is processed and sorted in good time.”
On Thursday, investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown issued a message to customers with ISAs which said: “The deadline’s fast approaching. You’ve only 3 days left to take full advantage of the tax year.
“But don’t worry – making the most of your tax-free allowance is easy. Just top up your account before 6 April.”
Speaking on an episode of The Martin Lewis Podcast on March 19, Martin backed up why this is so important: “The ISA deadline is April 5, that’s when the ISA year closes, because it’s the end of the tax year and you have an ISA allowance, a savings or investing allowance, that you can use each year.
“And if you do not use it, you lose it.”
This coming tax year from Monday is also the last one where all savers will still have a £20,000 Cash ISA allowance available. From April 2027, the limit will be slashed to just £12,000 for under-65s.
Harriet Guevara, Chief Savings Officer at Nottingham Building Society, said:
“ISA season carries extra importance this year, because it is the penultimate opportunity to make the most of the £20,000 tax-free Cash ISA allowance before it drops to £12,000 in April 2027 for under-65s.
“We know there will be many people looking to top up or open a new product. However, based on patterns we see each year, many savers choose to act early to avoid seasonal bottlenecks. Waiting until just before the deadline opens up the risk of hitting a technical or process delay and can make it harder to take the time needed to choose the product that best fits their circumstances.
“More broadly, this seasonal surge in activity is a reminder that Cash ISAs are important to millions of hard-working individuals and families who value the option of using them to support their financial goals. Three fifths of our fixed-rate ISA customers used the full £20,000 allowance last financial year, and among those saving in-branch, that figure rose to 65%.
“We support the government’s ambition to get more people investing, but simply cutting the cash allowance won’t do it. Better financial education is critical, giving people the option to save or invest in a way that fits their goals and risk appetite.”
