Move That Cash ISA Around – Great Deals Await You!
Transferring a Cash ISA might not necessarily be the first thing on your mind, but since we’re thinking about spring cleaning, we felt it was a good idea to bring it to your attention. Savers are looking for better rates everywhere, and they have every right to a good return.
If you’re out of the loop, you should know that the new tax year is already in full swing — it started on the 6th of April, to be exact. You have a chance to put away 11,520 GBP, and 5,760 of that can be in a Cash ISA.
Remember that you do not have to pay income tax whatsoever on this money, nor do you have to pay taxes on the interest that you make. This means that if you do nothing else, you should be maxing out your ISA allowance every single year. This is literally like getting free money from the government.
You can only have one cash ISA at a time for each tax year, but you can still have previous savings in past ISAs, if that makes sense.
The rates this year aren’t too terribly good, but it’s better than just having your money stored away in your couch.
The top offer would have to be the Halifax Five Year Fixed-Rate ISA, which pays about 3.1%. There are some requirements though — you have to hold the money for 5 years, there’s a minimum of 500 GBP, and there are no additional deposits. We think that this isn’t the best deal when you consider that you’re not going to be able to put any more money into it. However, if you’re concerned that rates will drop again, this is definitely one to look at.
The next one would have to be the Nationwide Web ISA. It gives you 2.25%, with an intro bonus of 1.5% until September 30th, 2014. This is pretty neat, because the value can go up. However, you are exposing yourself to some risk if you pursue this offer.
What about the Cheshire Building Society ISA Saver? This one will pay you 2.3%, which includes a bonus of 1.8%. You have to open it up with a deposit of 1,000 GBP or more.
There’s certainly room in the market. As you can imagine, there are always bits of fine print to read. Don’t just go with transferring your Cash ISA because everyone else is doing it. Look at the real rate that you’re going to be getting and then go from there. You’ll be much better off in the long run!