How Many ISAs Can You Have? The Rules for 2026/27 and What Changes in 2027

The rules as they stand in 2026/27

Holding is unlimited: ISAs from previous years stay open indefinitely, no longer need annual reactivation, and old balances never count against a new year's allowance. The binding constraint is the £20,000 annual contribution limit, spread across accounts however the saver chooses.

An easy access cash ISA and a fixed rate cash ISA with different providers, both funded in the same tax year, became legal in April 2024. Before that date only one ISA of each type could receive money per year, which is why older guidance still contradicts current rules.

The Lifetime ISA remains the exception: several can be held, but only one can receive contributions each tax year, capped at £4,000 which counts inside the £20,000. Junior ISAs run on a separate £9,000 per child limit.

What changes from April 2027

From 6 April 2027 the cash ISA contribution limit falls to £12,000 a year for savers under 65, inside an unchanged £20,000 overall allowance. Savers aged 65 and over keep the full £20,000 cash limit, applying from the start of the tax year in which they turn 65.

Two anti avoidance measures arrive with the cap: under 65s lose the ability to transfer money from non cash ISAs into cash ISAs (the reverse direction stays open), and a flat 22% charge applies to interest earned on uninvested cash parked inside stocks and shares and Innovative Finance ISAs, for every age group.

Existing cash ISA balances are fully protected. The cap touches only new contributions made after 5 April 2027, so money already inside the wrapper needs no redistribution.

Using the last full cash year well

The 2026/27 tax year is the final year of the £20,000 cash ISA allowance for under 65s, which makes it the year to front load cash savings into the wrapper for anyone holding taxable balances near their Personal Savings Allowance.

Transfers are the second lever: moving old ISA money between providers through the official transfer process never consumes allowance, and partial transfers of current year cash ISA contributions are now permitted, so chasing a better rate mid year costs nothing.

Withdrawing money manually and re depositing it, by contrast, burns allowance unless the account is a flexible ISA that permits replacement within the same year.

Breaching the allowance by accident

Contributions above £20,000 lose their tax free status, and HM Revenue and Customs contacts the saver after year end to repair the breach, typically by removing the excess and taxing any interest or growth it produced.

The standard advice is to call the provider promptly rather than attempt a DIY correction, since self transfers outside the official process can compound the problem. HMRC treats first accidental breaches administratively rather than punitively.