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Use your ISA...

5 July 2019

1 min read

Use your ISA allowance

ISA tax benefits are all in the future but they can be considerable, especially for Higher and Additional Rate taxpayers.

Dale Scorer
Dale Scorer,

Consultant

ISAs (individual saving accounts) are a simple way to protect your savings and investments from tax. Everyone can save up to £20,000 each year into an ISA; this can be cash or stocks & shares, or a mixture of both. If you are not using your allowance you could end up paying too much tax.

If you are saving on a regular basis it usually makes sense to use your ISA allowance. If you don’t use the allowance each year you lose it.

If you use an ISA for your cash savings you will not have to pay any tax on the interest you receive. With interest rates currently very low, this can seem a bit pointless if you don’t have a lot of savings. However, interest rates should eventually rise, which means you will have more tax to pay, particularly as your savings increase over the years.

Using an ISA to hold stock market investments means there is no capital gains tax to pay when you sell your holdings and there is no tax to pay on any income you receive. If you already own shares or other investments standing at a profit it is possible to use your annual capital gains allowance to sell these and buy the same investments back through your ISA the next day. This has two advantages:

  • you are using your annual tax-free allowance; and
  • moving your investments into a tax-advantaged shelter.
Dale Scorer

Dale Scorer


Consultant

Dale joined EQ Investors (EQ) in 2020 and has worked in financial markets for over 12 years. She has held various positions in the finance industry, from currency trading to wealth management. As a dual qualified investment manager and financial planner, Dale plays a key role in developing EQ’s DFM capability. Dale brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with her, as well as a creative and unique approach to problem solving. As a retired professional athlete, who represented her country in gymnastics, she understands that no achievement comes without dedication. She brings that same commitment, determination and focus to her clients, helping them achieve their financial goals whilst building long term trusted relationships with them. Dale graduated with Honours in Finance from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa where she was born. She is also CFA charter holder, being a regular member of the CFA Institute and CFA UK society. Outside of the office Dale enjoys spending time with her family and travelling with her husband around the world aiming to explore and enjoy as much of it as possible

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