What is the annual ISA allowance?
Answered 11 March 2026
I was unable to find a source document in the available knowledge base that states the current annual ISA subscription limit (£20,000, in force since 6 April 2017). The retrieved sources confirm various background facts about ISAs but do not contain the specific current allowance figure.
I could not find an authoritative source for the current annual ISA subscription limit in the available materials.
What the sources do confirm is that:
- An ISA is a tax-free annual investment product allowing individuals to contribute a limited annual amount, with income exempt from Income Tax.
- The annual subscription limits are set by the Individual Savings Account Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1870).
- From 1 July 2014, ISAs were simplified with equal limits for cash and investments; for 2014–15 the limit was £15,000.
⚠️ The current £20,000 annual ISA allowance (in force since 6 April 2017) is not confirmed by any source document retrieved. You should consult:
- SI 1998/1870 (the ISA Regulations, as amended) for the precise statutory figure, or
- HMRC's ISA managers' guidance on GOV.UK for the current limit.
Citation sources
The separate insurance Individual Savings Account (ISA) was abolished on 5 April 2005. Since 6 April 2005, provided certain conditions are met, life insurance policies can be held within the stocks and shares ISA, or, since 6 April 2017, within the Lifetime ISA. There is detailed information on ISAs in the ‘ISA managers’ guidance’ published on gov.uk. Insurers can find the guidance useful to check if a life insurance policy can be included in an investor’s ISA. The ISA Regulations themselves are
Probably the most common type of exemption from tax on interest is where the income arises in an individual investment plan. Chapter 3 of Part 6 of ITTOIA05 contains the powers for the Treasury to make regulations for exemptions for certain investments. Two sets of regulations have been made under ITTOIA. Personal Equity Plans (PEPs) (SI469/1989). Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) (SI1870/1998). Similar powers are provided by The Child Trust Fund Act 2004 under which the following regulations h
An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a financial product for personal investors to contribute a limited annual amount to an investment account. Income from an ISA is exempt from Income Tax. Only shares listed on a recognised stock exchange may be held in an ISA, although this was relaxed somewhat in August 2013 when it was permitted to hold shares traded on a wider range of markets in a stocks and shares ISA. If the deceased held any shares in an ISA, the taxpayer will include them on the IHT4
This is defined at FA12/S60 by reference to ITTOIA05/S695 (1). A friendly society may write ISA business. Until 2005 it was limited, like insurance companies, to policies with premiums not exceeding £1000 per year per ISA. This is additional to the exempt life or endowment business exemption of £270 per year. The separate insurance component of an ISA was abolished from 6 April 2005. From that date, an insurance policy falls either in the stocks and shares component or the cash component of the