Cash ISA Limit 2027: £12,000 From April
From 6 April 2027, most people aged under 65 will be able to pay up to £12,000 a year into a Cash ISA, down from the current £20,000. The overall annual ISA allowance will remain £20,000, so the change is specifically to the Cash ISA subscription limit rather than the total amount that can be subscribed across ISAs.
Change at a glance
Last checked: 29th September 2026
Change takes effect: 6th April 2027
Where: UK
Who is affected: People who use or plan to use Cash ISAs, with different limits depending on age.
What is changing: The annual Cash ISA subscription limit will fall to £12,000 for people who are under 65. People aged 65 and over will retain the £20,000 Cash ISA limit.
Cash ISA subscriptions will be limited to £12,000 for people under 65
From 6 April 2027, the annual Cash ISA subscription limit for people under 65 will be £12,000.
The overall annual ISA allowance will remain £20,000. The £12,000 figure is therefore a limit on Cash ISA subscriptions, not a new £12,000 limit for ISAs as a whole.
For someone under 65, up to £12,000 can be subscribed to a Cash ISA, with the rest of the overall allowance potentially available for other eligible ISA types, subject to their rules.
The new limit will start on 6 April 2027
The new limit takes effect on 6 April 2027, at the start of the 2027/28 tax year.
The Individual Savings Account (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 were made on 10 September 2026 and come into force on 6 April 2027.
The existing rules continue to apply for the 2026/27 tax year.
The overall ISA allowance will remain £20,000
The overall annual ISA subscription limit remains £20,000.
The change creates a separate £12,000 Cash ISA limit for people under 65. The remaining part of the £20,000 overall allowance can potentially be used for other eligible ISA subscriptions, subject to the rules for those accounts.
For example, someone under 65 could potentially subscribe £12,000 to a Cash ISA and use up to the remaining £8,000 of their annual ISA allowance elsewhere.
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People aged 65 and over will retain the £20,000 Cash ISA limit
People who qualify for the higher age-based limit will continue to be able to subscribe up to £20,000 a year to a Cash ISA.
The detailed rules provide that entitlement to the higher limit applies from the start of the tax year in which an individual turns 65. The legislation frames the £12,000 limit as applying where the individual is 64 or under at the end of the tax year.
Existing Cash ISA balances will not be capped at £12,000
The £12,000 figure is an annual subscription limit. It is not a cap on the total amount that can be held in a Cash ISA.
Someone who already has more than £12,000 in a Cash ISA will not have their existing balance reduced to £12,000 when the new rules start. The change concerns new subscriptions during the relevant tax year.
Existing qualifying Cash ISA savings are therefore separate from the new annual subscription limit. Savers should not assume they have to withdraw existing money simply because the annual limit is lower.
Interest on existing Cash ISA savings will not become taxable because of the new limit
The new Cash ISA limit does not itself turn existing Cash ISA savings into taxable savings. The measure is about the amount that can be newly subscribed each year.
Transfers into Cash ISAs will also be restricted for people under 65
An ISA transfer is different from paying new money into an ISA. From April 2027, transfers from Stocks and Shares ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs into Cash ISAs will be restricted for people under 65.
Transfers from Cash ISAs into non-Cash ISAs will remain possible under the new arrangements. Anyone considering a transfer should check the current rules with their provider rather than withdrawing money first.
The remaining £8,000 can potentially be used through other eligible ISAs
For someone under 65, the £12,000 Cash ISA limit sits within the overall £20,000 ISA allowance. The remaining £8,000 may potentially be used through other eligible ISA arrangements, subject to the rules applying to those accounts.
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Savers putting more than £12,000 into Cash ISAs could be most affected
The change will matter most to people under 65 who normally put more than £12,000 a year into Cash ISAs.
The government estimates that around 22% of Cash ISA subscribers aged under 65 subscribed more than £12,000 in 2022/23. For those savers, the lower Cash ISA limit may mean reviewing how they use their ISA allowance from April 2027.
That does not automatically mean another savings or investment product is right for them. The appropriate choice depends on their own circumstances and the rules applying to the account.
New rules will apply to cash held in some non-Cash ISAs
The Cash ISA reduction is accompanied by anti-circumvention rules. From April 2027, interest paid on cash held in Stocks and Shares ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs will be subject to a 22% charge under the new rules.
The regulations also introduce rules around Money Market Funds and restrict transfers from non-Cash ISAs into Cash ISAs for people under 65. These measures are intended to prevent people using other ISA arrangements simply to get around the lower Cash ISA limit.
A £20,000 saver under 65 would face a £12,000 Cash ISA limit
Suppose a person under 65 wants to use their full £20,000 ISA allowance during 2027/28 and wants to save in cash. The new rules would limit their Cash ISA subscription to £12,000.
Subject to the rules, the remaining £8,000 could potentially be used through another eligible ISA type, but it would not become an additional £8,000 of Cash ISA allowance.
The higher limit applies from the tax year in which someone turns 65
The age rules are important because the higher £20,000 Cash ISA limit applies from the start of the tax year in which an individual turns 65.
Do you need to do anything before April 2027?
For most Cash ISA savers, there is no immediate action required simply because the limit is changing in 2027. The current rules continue to apply for the 2026/27 tax year.
If you regularly subscribe more than £12,000 a year to a Cash ISA and are under 65, it is worth being aware of the new limit before the 2027/28 tax year starts. It may also be useful to understand the difference between new subscriptions and ISA transfers.
The main things that are not changing
The overall annual ISA allowance remains £20,000. The change does not introduce a £12,000 limit across all ISA types, and existing Cash ISA balances are not being reduced to £12,000.
What Cash ISA savers should check
- How much you normally subscribe to a Cash ISA each tax year.
- Whether you qualify for the higher £20,000 Cash ISA limit under the age rules.
- Whether you expect to save more than £12,000 in cash during 2027/28.
- How the overall £20,000 ISA allowance could be used in your circumstances.
- Whether you are considering an ISA transfer rather than a new subscription.
Information checked
This article was checked against current official information from HM Revenue & Customs, HM Treasury and legislation.gov.uk, including the Individual Savings Account (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026.
The regulations were made on 10 September 2026 and come into force on 6 April 2027. They introduce the £12,000 Cash ISA subscription limit for individuals who are 64 or under at the end of the tax year.
HMRC’s policy paper confirms the £12,000 limit for individuals aged under 65 and the continued £20,000 Cash ISA limit for people aged 65 and over.
General information: This article is intended as general information about ISA rules and is not financial or tax advice. Rules and guidance can change, so check the latest information from HMRC or GOV.UK before making decisions about savings or investments. Consider professional advice if you need help with your individual circumstances.
