Open a Stocks & Shares ISA and Enjoy Tax‑Free Investing

1. What is a tax wrapper?

A tax wrapper is a type of investment account that offers tax benefits. The three main types on InvestEngine are:

• ISA (Individual Savings Account)
• SIPP (Self‑Invested Personal Pension)
• GIA (General Investment Account)

Each wrapper has different tax rules, limits, and purposes.

2. What is a Stocks & Shares ISA?

A Stocks & Shares ISA lets you invest without paying:

• Capital Gains Tax on profits
• Income tax on dividends or interest

You can invest up to £20,000 per tax year (subject to change). This limit applies across all ISAs you hold, not just with InvestEngine.

⚠️ ISA cash still uses your allowance even if not invested.

3. Can I have more than one ISA?

Yes, you can have multiple ISAs, but you can only subscribe to one Stocks & Shares ISA per tax year. You can transfer ISAs between providers without affecting your annual allowance.

4. What is a SIPP?

A SIPP (Self‑Invested Personal Pension) is a pension account that allows you to manage your own retirement investments. Key features:

• Tax relief on contributions (usually 20%, more for higher‑rate taxpayers)
• No tax on investment growth or dividends
• Access from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028)

Annual contribution limits apply (usually £60,000 or your annual income, whichever is lower).

Note: SIPPs are long‑term accounts ‑ withdrawing early can lead to penalties.

5. What is a General Investment Account (GIA)?

A GIA is a flexible, taxable investment account. It has:

• No annual limit on how much you can invest
• No tax benefits, but fewer restrictions

You may need to pay tax on capital gains, dividends, or interest, depending on your circumstances.

6. Can I transfer between wrappers?

You cannot directly transfer from a GIA into an ISA or SIPP, but you can:

1. Sell investments in your GIA
2. Withdraw the cash
3. Reinvest it in an ISA or SIPP (subject to limits)

ISA and pension transfers from other providers are supported — see our transfer FAQs for more details.

7. Which wrapper should I choose?

• Use an ISA if you want tax‑free investing and flexible access.
• Choose a SIPP for retirement‑focused investing and tax relief.
• Use a GIA if you’ve used up your ISA allowance or need fewer restrictions.

You can have multiple account types with InvestEngine to suit different goals.

8. Do all wrappers offer the same investment options?

Yes ‑ with InvestEngine, you can invest in the same range of ETFs whether you’re using an ISA, SIPP, or GIA. The main differences are in tax treatment and rules around contributions and withdrawals.

InvestEngine’s Stocks & Shares ISA is built for long‑term investors who want to invest their money tax‑efficiently ‑ with control, clarity, and low costs.

Please note: The tax treatment of ISAs depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

But there are a few simple rules about who can open and pay into one.

You must be:

• 18 or over
• A UK resident for tax purposes

As long as you meet these requirements, you can open an ISA portfolio with InvestEngine and start investing in a diversified selection of low‑cost ETFs.

What if I live abroad?

You can keep your ISA open if you move overseas, but you won’t be able to pay in while you’re living outside the UK (unless you’re a Crown employee working abroad, or their spouse or civil partner).

You must be a UK tax resident to make new contributions each tax year.

You can read more on the HMRC guidance page

Can I open more than one?

Yes ‑ from April 2024, the rules changed. You can now subscribe to more than one Stocks & Shares ISA in the same tax year, across different providers.

A quick reminder:

• Your combined total across all ISAs must stay within the £20,000 annual allowance
• It’s your responsibility to make sure you don’t go over the limit

You can read more about how much you can invest here

Why choose InvestEngine?

We’ve designed our ISA to give you:

• Full control over what you invest in (with DIY portfolios), or the option to leave it to us (with Managed and LifePlan portfolios)
  *Currently, Managed and LifePlan portfolios are unavailable while we make updates. You can still invest through DIY portfolios, and we’ll notify clients when Managed Portfolios are relaunched
• Zero platform fees for DIY investing, and just 0.45% for Managed or LifePlan portfolios
  *Managed and LifePlan options are not currently available
• A flexible ISA wrapper, allowing you to withdraw and replace funds within the same tax year

Remember that ETF fees apply

Learn more about Why InvestEngine might be right for you

Ready to open your ISA?

It takes just a few minutes to get started.

When investing, your capital is at risk and the value of your investments can go up or down.

Changed your mind?

If you open an ISA and then decide it’s not right for you, that’s okay. You have a 30‑day cooling‑off period from when your application is accepted to cancel the ISA. If you cancel within this time, your subscription won’t count towards your annual ISA allowance, and the account will be treated as though it was never opened.

Just get in touch with our Client Support team and we’ll guide you through the next steps.

Each tax year, HMRC reviews the rules around ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts). While the allowance hasn’t changed in the latest ISA changes, there have been a few important updates‑ especially around flexibility and how you can use your ISA across different providers.

Here’s what you need to know.

Your allowance remains the same

For the 2025/26 tax year, the total ISA allowance is still £20,000. You can split this across different types of ISAs if you wish‑ for example:

• Stocks & Shares ISA
• Cash ISA
• Lifetime ISA (up to £4,000 max)
• Innovative Finance ISA

See ISA allowance: How much can I invest? for more details.

You can now pay into multiple Stocks & Shares ISAs

Previously, you could only subscribe to one Stocks & Shares ISA each tax year.

From April 2024, you can now subscribe to more than one ‑ across multiple providers, which is great if you’re looking to try different ways of investing your ISA.

Example: You can invest £10,000 with InvestEngine and £10,000 with another provider — so long as you don’t exceed the £20,000 total.

Important: It’s your responsibility to track your total subscriptions and stay within the limit. If you over‑contribute, you’ll need to contact HMRC to resolve the issue.

More information is available in the HMRC ISA guide.

Better flexibility for some transfers

ISA providers are now encouraged to offer more flexibility in how and when you can transfer between providers, including partial transfers of current‑year subscriptions.

At InvestEngine, you can transfer:

• Cash transfers (in and out)

• In‑specie transfers (in, if supported by your provider)

An in‑specie transfer in investments means moving your shares or funds to another account without selling them first.

Note: We can only accept in‑specie transfers of ETFs. We cannot transfer in individual company shares, funds, or other investments in‑specie.
If your ISA holds other investments and you wish to transfer to InvestEngine, those holdings will need to be sold and transferred as cash.

You can read more about ISA transfers here

What’s changed at InvestEngine?

• We now support customers who hold multiple Stocks & Shares ISA providers, in line with HMRC’s 2024/25 update

• Your ISA dashboard tracks your remaining allowance and flexible ISA replacement amount

Not sure what to do next?

We can’t give personal tax advice, but our Help Centre has lots of guidance to help you make informed decisions:

• What is a Flexible ISA?
• ISA allowance: How much can I invest?
• How do I transfer an ISA to InvestEngine?

Each tax year, your ISA allowance resets ‑ giving you a fresh opportunity to invest tax‑free. But timing matters, especially around the tax year‑end and when your new allowance becomes available.

This article explains the key cut‑off times and start dates to help you make the most of your ISA allowance.

When does the tax year run?

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

You get a new ISA allowance each tax year, and it does not carry over if unused. For 2025/26, the allowance is £20,000.

End‑of‑year cut‑off

To use your ISA allowance for the current tax year, you must:

• Add funds to your ISA portfolio before midnight on 5 April 2026

However, to be safe — especially with bank transfers — we recommend:

• Using Open Banking for faster processing
• Avoiding BACs or late‑night transfers near the deadline

If your payment doesn’t arrive in time, it may be counted against next year’s allowance.

When does the new allowance start?

Your new ISA allowance becomes available from 00:01 am on 6 April.

If you’ve already used your full allowance for the previous year, you can continue investing once the new tax year begins — and we’ll automatically track your allowance for the new year.

You’ll see your refreshed allowance on your InvestEngine dashboard.

What happens if I make a withdrawal at year‑end?

If you have a Flexible ISA and you withdraw money before 5 April, you must replace it by the same date to preserve your current‑year allowance.

If you replace the funds after 5 April, it will count towards your new allowance for the next tax year.

Read more about Flexible ISAs here

How to stay on track

• Log in to your InvestEngine dashboard to see how much ISA allowance you’ve used or have remaining
• We update your allowance in real time as you add or withdraw money
• If you’re planning a year‑end top‑up, give yourself plenty of time for transfers to clear

Next steps

Want to add to your ISA or get started with a new portfolio?

Read more about making payments or Opening your first ISA portfolio

When investing your capital is at risk, your investments may go up or down

 

Each tax year, there’s a limit to how much you can pay into ISAs while keeping your returns tax‑free ‑ this is known as your ISA allowance.

The allowance for this tax year (2025/26) is £20,000. The tax year runs from 6th April to 5th April each year.

This means you can invest up to £20,000 across all your ISAs combined, without paying tax on any income or gains.

What counts towards the allowance?

• Any new money you add to your ISA during the tax year
• Contributions across all your ISA types, including:
  • Stocks & Shares ISAs
  • Cash ISAs
  • Lifetime ISAs (LISAs) (Maximum £4,000)
  • Innovative Finance ISAs

ISA transfers from another provider don’t use up your allowance — as long as they’re completed correctly. Any gains made from the money added to your ISA also do not use up your allowance.

Check out our step‑by‑step guide to transferring ISAs for more information.

You can now subscribe to more than one Stocks & Shares ISA per year

Since April 2024, you can subscribe to more than one Stocks & Shares ISA in the same tax year, across different providers ‑ as long as your combined total stays within the £20,000 allowance.

For example, you could invest £12,000 with InvestEngine and £8,000 with another provider.

A quick reminder: it’s your responsibility to make sure you don’t go over the limit.
If you do, you’ll need to contact HMRC to resolve this, and they may require you to withdraw the excess.

You can read the full rules on the HMRC ISA guidance page.

What about withdrawals?

If you have a Flexible ISA (like InvestEngine’s), you can withdraw money and replace it within the same tax year without affecting your £20,000 allowance.

Read more about Flexible ISAs here.

When does the tax year run?

• From 6 April to 5 April each year
• Your ISA allowance resets on 6 April
• You can’t carry over any unused allowance — it’s ‘use it or lose it’

Where can I check my remaining allowance?

You’ll see your remaining ISA allowance clearly in your Dashboard, above your ISA portfolios. It’s also shown whenever you add or withdraw money.

If you’ve withdrawn funds and plan to replace them, we’ll show you how much you can still deposit under the flexible rules.

The 30‑day cooling‑off period

If you open an ISA and change your mind, you have a 30‑day cooling‑off period from the date your application is accepted. If you cancel within this period, your ISA will be treated as though it was never opened — and any subscriptions made won’t count towards your annual ISA allowance.

This is known as the ISA voiding, and it can be helpful if:

• You made a mistake when opening your ISA
• You decide you want to use your allowance with a different provider

Important: If you cancel after the 30‑day window, your account will count towards your allowance for the tax year, even if you didn’t invest the money or later withdrew it.

If you’re thinking about cancelling, please get in touch with our Client Support team as soon as possible so we can walk you through the process.

ISA voiding: Why staying within the rules matters

It’s important to stick to the ISA rules — especially around contribution limits and account eligibility. If you exceed the annual ISA allowance or break HMRC guidelines (for example, by exceeding the total allowance across multiple Stocks & Shares ISAs), your ISA may be declared void.

A void ISA loses its tax‑free status, meaning:

• You may have to pay tax on any gains or income
• HMRC may require you to correct the mistake, which can be time‑consuming
• The funds may need to be removed or reallocated

If you’re unsure about your contributions across providers, or your eligibility, it’s always worth checking with HMRC or seeking tax advice before continuing.

Ready to get started?

Opening an ISA portfolio with InvestEngine takes just a few minutes — and you’ll be using your allowance in the most tax‑efficient way possible.

Check out our guide to get started here.

When investing your capital is at risk, your investments may go up or down.

Related articles: 

What is a Flexible ISA?

Where Can I See My Remaining ISA Allowance?

Adding money to your portfolios (DIY, Managed, LifePlan)

A Flexible ISA allows you to withdraw and replace money within the same tax year without affecting your annual ISA allowance.

This feature gives you more freedom to manage your investments ‑ whether you need to access your money temporarily or simply want to move funds around.

InvestEngine’s Stocks & Shares ISA is fully flexible.

How it works

Here’s a simple example:

• You invest £10,000 into your ISA
• Later, you withdraw £2,000
• You now have the option to replace that £2,000 within the same tax year ‑ without using up more of your £20,000 allowance
• So in that tax year, you could invest up to £20,000 total, regardless of the temporary withdrawal.

Flexible ISA rules are set by HMRC. See official guidance for more detail.

What to keep in mind

• Replacements must happen in the same tax year
• The flexibility only applies once you’ve made a withdrawal
• It does not increase your allowance ‑ it simply lets you reclaim space you’ve already used
• The flexibility only applies to your Stocks & Shares ISA

How does it work with InvestEngine?

If you withdraw from your InvestEngine ISA, your available ISA allowance is updated in your account dashboard. You’ll see how much can still be replaced this tax year.

When you add funds back, they’ll be treated as replacements first, before using any remaining allowance.

For help with the withdrawal process, see Withdrawing money and timelines

Related articles: 

ISA Allowance: How Much Can I Invest?

Can I Withdraw from My ISA?

Where Can I See My Remaining ISA Allowance?

An ISA over subscription is when you pay more than £20,000 into your ISA allowance* in one tax year. This can happen if you:

• Subscribe more than £20,000 across multiple ISA accounts, or
  
  
• Have a Direct Debit that amounts to more than £20,000 at the end of the tax year

When making instant or portfolio transfers into your ISA with InvestEngine, the system will notify you that you’re already at your ISA limit to prevent oversubscription. 

*£20,000 is the tax year allowance for 2024/25 and 2025/26

What happens if I oversubscribe my ISA?

If you notify us of the breach within 30 days, we can void the transaction (s). If the breach is discovered after 30 days, we must repair the ISA by:

• Removing the excess subscription,
  
  
• Identifying and removing any related investment gains or income.

What do you need from me?

Once we’ve identified an oversubscription, we’ll:

• Provide you with a breakdown of the excess amount, affected investments, and any related gains or income.
  
  
• Supply relevant reports (Cash Statement, Trading Statement, CGT Report) to help you assess the situation.
  
  
• Ask for your confirmation on which subscriptions to remove.

You will need to tell us which investments you wish to remove from your ISA.

What reports will I need?

You can download these relevant reports from your account:

• Cash Statement: Includes any dividends received (no tax is deducted).
  
  
• Trading Statement: Details the purchase cost, acquisition dates, and fees for affected investments.
  
  
• CGT Report: Lists sale dates, sale proceeds, and disposal‑related costs.

These will help you or your accountant calculate any tax owed outside the ISA wrapper.

How do you determine which investments were made using oversubscribed funds?

We trace the path of your ISA contributions and identify:

• When your total contributions exceeded £20,000.
  
  
• Which investments were made using the excess funds after that point.
  
  
• Any dividends, reinvestments, or proceeds from those investments.

If you made multiple oversubscriptions, this process is repeated for each one.

What happens after I confirm the investments to remove?

Once we receive your confirmation:

• The identified oversubscription (including related gains and income) will be removed from your ISA.
  
  
• These amounts will be transferred into a General Investment Account (GIA) in your name.

This ensures your ISA remains compliant with HMRC rules.

Will I be taxed on the oversubscribed amounts?

Once removed from your ISA, these investments lose their tax‑free status. You may be liable for:

• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on any profits.
  
  
• Income Tax on dividends or other earnings.

We advise speaking with a tax professional for personal advice.

What if I subscribed to another provider as well?

HMRC rules apply to the total across all providers. Even if each provider accepted subscriptions under £20,000, the total must not exceed the annual limit. We will assist with correcting the oversubscription related to your ISA with us; HMRC may contact you regarding your overall ISA usage.

You’re able to withdraw from your ISA at any time. With a Flexible ISA, you can replace the amount (s) withdrawn in the same tax year without affecting your annual allowance.

For example, if you contributed £60,000 to your ISA in the previous tax year and have £5,000 remaining in your ISA allowance for the current tax year, you can withdraw any amount and deposit that same amount back, without it affecting your remaining ISA allowance. However, you must replace the withdrawn money by the end of the tax year, which is April 5th, for this to be the case.

With InvestEngine, you’ll now be able to utilise the Flexible feature of our ISAs for free, this also applies to your current tax year allowance.

ISA transfer Promo and Flexible ISA

With a flexible ISA if you have a transfer bonus you will need to keep the transferred amount invested to keep the bonus even if they kept it topped up. Should you have a referral or affiliate bonus, you will need to ensure that £100 remains in the account.

ISA Allowance Cut‑Off and Start Times

Below are the key deadlines for ISA subscriptions and contributions as we transition from the current tax year to the new one.

Current Tax Year Cut‑Off

• 2024/25: ISA contributions must be received by 11:45 PM on April 5th 2025, for both instant and manual transfer contributions.

New Tax Year Start

• 2025/26: You can start contributing to your new ISA allowance from 12:01 AM on April 6th 2025. Contributions made before this time will be allocated to the previous tax year.

Note: You can open an ISA account or portfolio before April 6th, 2025, in preparation for the new tax year. However, you will need to wait until April 6th to add funds.

While you can invest up to £20,000 a year into an InvestEngine ISA, you can invest as much as you like in an InvestEngine General (GIA) Account.

And while our General Account isn’t tax‑free, UK taxpayers may benefit from a £500 dividend allowance and £3,000 capital gains tax (CGT) allowance (in 2025/26) that can be set against your investment returns to reduce tax liabilities.

You do not need to open a new account, simply create a new portfolio, choose DIY or Managed type and select General Account.

Please note that InvestEngine does not intend the above to be tax advice and you should speak to your own tax adviser or HM Revenue & Customs to confirm the tax implications of investing your cash. InvestEngine will not be responsible for any action or inaction as a result of this information.