Skip to content

Update the ISA cash limit and the non-cash ISA charge when the November 2026 ISA instrument is laid #2728

Open

Description

@juaristi22

Budget 2026 retains the £20,000 cash ISA limit for all savers from April 2027. The secondary legislation is "to be laid before parliament in November 2026" (OOTLAR para 2.5).

Until it is laid, SI 2026/1018 is the law from 6 April 2027:

  • reg 6 inserts reg 4ZA(1ZA), a "£12,000" cash limit for a person who is "64 or under at the end of that year";
  • reg 15 inserts reg 22A, the final charge on cash interest in non-cash ISAs;
  • it also restricts transfers into cash ISAs.

#2712 follows the Budget, not SI 2026/1018:

  • gov.hmrc.isa.cash.subscription_limit gives cash no limit of its own from 2027. Its only reference for that is OOTLAR para 2.5.
  • gov.hmrc.isa.cash_interest_charge.in_effect stays true from 6 April 2027, since the Budget documents don't say whether the charge survives.

When the November instrument is laid:

  1. Cash limit. Check whether it revokes reg 4ZA(1ZA) or amends it.
    • Replace the OOTLAR reference in gov/hmrc/isa/cash/subscription_limit.yaml and full_limit_age.yaml with the instrument.
    • If it sets a different limit or age instead, change the values and the YAML tests.
  2. Cash-interest charge. Check whether it revokes reg 15 (reg 22A).
    • If it does, end gov.hmrc.isa.cash_interest_charge.in_effect at 6 April 2027.
    • Update isa_cash_interest_flat_rate_charge, its tests and the ISA assumptions page.
  3. Transfers. Note what happens to the restrictions on transfers into cash ISAs. The model doesn't cover transfers.
  4. Axiom. Update Encode ISA return exemptions, Lifetime ISA bonuses and withdrawals, and the 2027 noncash interest charge TheAxiomFoundation/rulespec-uk#487. Its follow-up holds the reg 4ZA(1ZA) cases until this instrument.

Raised in Pavel's review of #2712 (should fix 1). Related: #2710 and #2719.

Activity

  1. vahid-ahmadi commented on Oct 29, 2026

    @vahid-ahmadi
    Collaborator

    Checked SI 2026/1018, OOTLAR para 2.5, the Budget 2026 document and main at 2c7bf5a. The issue is accurate.

    1. SI 2026/1018 (made 10 September, in force 6 April 2027): reg 6 inserts reg 4ZA(1ZA), £12,000 for a person "64 or under at the end of that year"; reg 15 inserts reg 22A, the charge on cash interest in stocks and shares and innovative finance ISAs; reg 13 amends reg 21 so those subscriptions move to a cash ISA only if the investor is 65 or over at the end of the year. OOTLAR 2.5 retains the £20,000 cash limit and says nothing on reg 22A or transfers. Neither does the Budget document (Table 6.1 row 11, costed at nil in 2026-27 rising to £70m in 2031-32).

    2. should: parameters/gov/hmrc/isa/cash_interest_charge/in_effect.yaml:10 calls SI 2026/1018 the "Individual Savings Account (Amendment) Regulations 2026". Its reg 1 cites it as the "(Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026", as cash/subscription_limit.yaml:24 already has. A one-line fix that need not wait for November.

    3. nit: Table 6.1 row 11 could sit next to OOTLAR 2.5 as a reference in cash/subscription_limit.yaml.

    On the decision: keep in_effect true from 6 April 2027 until the instrument is laid. Reg 22A is made law and nothing published revokes it.

    🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

      Milestone

      No milestone

      Relationships

      None yet

      Development

      No branches or pull requests

      Issue actions