Despite ISAs being around for 25 years, there remains much confusion among consumers around what they can and cannot do with them. For instance, our recent survey* found over a quarter (28%) of people believe they can only have one ISA at a time.
In most circumstances you can have as many ISAs as you like, though there are rules around the amounts you can contribute to certain ISA types in a given tax year – which perhaps adds to the misunderstanding.
What are the main ISA rules?
ISAs might seem complex, but the basic concept is straightforward. An ISA – or Individual Savings Account – is just a savings or investment account where no tax is payable, both within the wrapper and once you withdraw from it. Less tax equals more growth and returns – as well as simplicity when it comes to reporting – which is why almost everyone should generally prioritise an ISA for their savings or investments.
Each tax year, everyone gets an ISA ‘allowance’, which is the maximum you can put into the tax-free wrapper. For the 2025/26 tax year, between 6th April 2025 and 5th April 2026 it’s £20,000, unchanged from 2024/25.
You can choose whether you want to invest the whole allowance in to one type of ISA, or whether you want to split it between different types – the main ones being Cash ISAs and Stocks & Shares ISAs. If you don't use your allowance before the end of each tax year, you'll lose it – but you do get a brand-new allowance in the following tax year.
How many Stocks and Shares ISAs can I have and what about Cash ISAs?
As previously mentioned, it’s possible to have as many different ISAs as you like – with some exceptions which I’ll explain – and a recent revision of the ISA rules has introduced greater flexibility.
Before April 2024, ISA savers and investors could contribute money into only one Cash ISA and one Stocks and Shares ISA each tax year. This meant you could only pay into one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA each tax year, but once the new tax year began, you were free to choose different providers if you wanted to.
However, a rule change from the 2024/25 tax year now means you can use different ISA providers in the same tax year, not just for different tax years.
This is a welcome relaxation, but the new rules are voluntary. Not all ISA providers have adopted them, particularly for Cash ISA limits. You may find that your bank or building society doesn’t permit you to open an ISA elsewhere in the same tax year after you have contributed to theirs.
Finally, it’s important to point out that the new rules around multiple providers in the same tax year do not cover Lifetime ISAs. With these products you are still limited to having a single provider per tax year.
How many Junior ISAs can you have?
You can divide the annual Junior (JISA) allowance between Cash JISAs and Stocks & Shares JISAs for a child. So, you can put it all in cash or all in the stock market, or any mix of the two – just like adult ISAs.
However, the flexibility of using multiple providers for ISAs does not extend to Junior ISAs. Your child can only hold a cash JISA with one provider, and they can only hold stock market investments with one Stocks & Shares JISA provider. As with ISAs, it’s possible to transfer to another provider, but you must transfer the whole amount.
*Source: Charles Stanley / Censuswide February 2025 survey of 3001 ‘mass affluent’ consumers (defined as those earning above the UK average salary and with at least £1,000 in accessible cash/savings or those who have retired and have more than £1000 in savings).
Nothing on this website should be construed as personal advice based on your circumstances. No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal.
How does a Stocks & Shares ISA work?
Read more
