ISA FAQs

An ISA is an Individual Savings Account, which is a tax-free, or tax-efficient, account for your savings.

You can only save a set amount each tax year and the account can only be held in a sole name.

Everyone in the UK is given a tax-free ISA savings allowance each year. In addition, most tax payers also receive a personal savings allowance which applies to interest earned on non-ISA products.

ISAs can only be provided by authorised ISA Managers. Newcastle Building Society has obtained the relevant authorisation and we offer a range of cash ISAs. 

As an ISA Manager, Newcastle Building Society is responsible for ensuring your ISA complies with, and is operated in accordance with, the terms and conditions specified by HM Revenue and Customs.

The tax information provided is based on the current law and HM Revenue & Customs practice, both of which may change.

A stocks and shares ISA is where your funds are invested in a tax-efficient way to products linked to the stock market and your return is calculated on this basis.

If you are thinking about investing in a stocks and shares ISA, we can introduce you to Newcastle Financial Advisers Limited, who are part of the Newcastle Building Society Group, where one of their Financial Advisers can offer advice on stocks and shares ISAs.

To find out more about stocks and shares ISAs or to book an appointment with a Newcastle Financial Adviser call 0345 600 4330 (available 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday). 

Approved by the Openwork Partnership on 18/01/2024.

The overall ISA limit for the 2024/2025 tax year is £20,000.

The allowance offers you the option to save your whole allowance of £20,000 in cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, or any combination of the two.

For example, you could choose to invest £10,000 in a stocks and shares ISA, save £5,000 in a fixed rate cash ISA and £5,000 in an easy access cash ISA.  Alternatively, you could save the full £20,000 into a cash ISA.

As long as you do not exceed your ISA allowance, you can use it however you want to.

Flexible ISAs allow money to be moved in and out of an ISA within the same tax year, without impacting your tax-free allowance.

Not all banks and building societies are required to offer flexible ISAs, so please speak to your ISA provider before making withdrawals.

Newcastle Building Society offers flexible cash ISAs, however, please refer to the product terms and conditions before making a withdrawal as some of our ISAs will not allow deposits into the account after the initial funding window has closed.

Yes, as long as you do not exceed the current tax-free savings limit, which is £20,000 in 2024/2025. This is across all ISA products that you open and subscribe to in the current tax year.

Please note that the interest and government bonus payments from a Help to Buy ISA or Lifetime ISA do not count towards your annual ISA allowance.

Yes, you can transfer your existing cash or stocks and shares ISA between providers as many times as you wish.

If you wish to transfer an ISA to the Newcastle Building Society, you can do so by contacting us on 0345 734 4345, visiting your local branch, or if you are opening a new account online you can enter the details of your existing ISA during the application process. 

Once we have received your transfer details we’ll contact your current provider to organise the transfer, this can take up to 15 business days to complete.

View or download our Cash ISA Transfer form (PDF, 60KB)

To transfer a Cash ISA from another provider to us, you must first open a Cash ISA. You can transfer into an existing Cash ISA held with us, subject to the terms and conditions of the product. If you haven’t yet opened a Cash ISA, please visit Cash ISAs for more information. 

You will need to complete a Stocks and Shares Transfer Authority form and post this to us. The transfer form is available by clicking here. 

Once we have received your transfer form, we will contact the manager of your stocks and shares ISA to arrange the transfer. 

You should not withdraw sums from your stocks and shares ISA yourself in order to deposit it into a cash ISA. Any amount that you pay in may count as a fresh payment against your overall limit of £20,000 for 2024/2025.

Once the stocks and shares ISA subscriptions reach us, they will become cash subscriptions.

ISA Managers will give you details of the ISAs they offer and some may be able to provide advice. 

Any of our friendly staff will be able to explain our products. If you wish to invest in more than one of the ISA components, then a financial adviser can help in choosing the right option for you.

You can save as little as you like in a Newcastle Building Society cash ISA. The initial investment amount may vary depending upon which ISA you choose, please check the product terms and conditions of your account for full details.

During the current tax year 2024/2025, the maximum amount you can save in a cash ISA is £20,000. 

Limits are subject to legislation which may change in the future.

To open a stocks and shares ISA you have to be aged 18 or over, you also need to be 18 or over to open a cash ISA. You also have to be a resident of the United Kingdom, have a National Insurance number (NI) and in most cases you will be required to be living in the UK. It is important that you ask your tax office if you are in any doubt about your residential status.

If you are a crown employee, such as a diplomat or a member of the armed forces, who is working overseas and paid by the Government then you are eligible to open an ISA.

You cannot open an ISA if you are a non-UK resident.

If you wish to open a cash ISA with Newcastle Building Society, please make an appointment at local branch or apply online.

No, you cannot hold an ISA jointly with, or on behalf of, anyone else.

The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April the following year.

An application by someone holding a Lasting Power of Attorney may be accepted where the investor is physically incapable of making the application. 

Under these circumstances the Society would require:

• The Power of Attorney document,
• A written declaration from the attorney confirming that the investor is physically incapable of making the application.
  
  This should be attached to the application form as HM Revenue and Customs may require sight of this declaration.

The Society can accept applications made by either:

• An attorney appointed for a person who is mentally incapacitated (The Lasting Power of Attorney should have been registered by the Court of Protection, or stamped by the Public Trust Office).
• A receiver appointed by the Court of Protection for someone who is mentally incapacitated (the document of appointment must be produced).

A junior ISA allows parents and carers of young children to save tax efficiently for their children’s future as all interest earned on a junior ISA is tax-free. The savings can then be given to the child once they turn 18.

The junior ISA allowance for each child in the 2024/2025 tax year is £9,000.

Following changes in 2015, people are able to use their spouse’s ISA allowance on the death of the spouse. This downloadable factsheet provides more information.