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What is the British ISA?

Reading time: 5 minutes
Scottish FriendlyMarch 6, 2024

There's a new type of ISA that's set to be introduced. Why? To boost investment in British companies. This article answers some questions about the new ISA coming to town...

What is the British ISA?

The British ISA is a new individual savings account, announced by the government in the spring 2024 budget.

The most important thing to know about this type of ISA (also known as the 'UK ISA'), is the impact that it will have on your allowance limit, which is the amount you’re allowed to pay into the other ISA types each tax year.

The British ISA will come with its own allowance limit - you’ll be able to pay in up to £5,000 each tax year.

That’s on top of your current £20,000 allowance limit. So, it means that when this new ISA is available, you’ll be able to pay up to £25,000 into ISAs each tax year, as long as one of those ISAs is a British ISA.

We're told that the British ISA will support UK companies but we don't yet know what the definition of a 'British company' will be. We also don't yet know if the British ISA will be available as stocks and shares, cash or both. Once we know more, we'll be able to give an update.

When will I be able to invest in a British ISA?

The government is still consulting on when to introduce this new ISA. We'll share more as soon as we know.

How do I open a British ISA?

The new British ISA hasn't been launched yet and the details are still being discussed. Once everything has been decided, then financial services providers will be able to give you the option to open one. So watch this space!

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