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

An ISA ‑ or Individual Savings Account ‑ is a tax‑efficient way to save or invest. It allows you to earn income or returns without paying UK tax on them. You often hear these referred to as 'wrappers' which is another way of saying the money you hold in them is sheltered from both Income Tax (on dividends) and Capital Gains Tax (on investment growth or capital appreciation).

There are different types of ISAs, but at InvestEngine, we offer a Stocks & Shares ISA ‑ designed for long‑term investing in investment vehicles like ETFs.

What are the tax benefits?

• No capital gains tax on your investment gains
• No income tax on dividends
• You don’t need to declare your ISA investments on your tax return

If you’re not sure about your tax allowances or how this could affect any other investments, we’d always recommend chatting to a financial advisor or tax specialist about your specific circumstances.

Investing in an ISA is one of the most popular ways to invest in the UK ‑ especially if you’re aiming to invest your wealth over the long term.

For more details on ISAs, visit the HMRC ISA guidance page.

How much can I invest?

The annual ISA allowance for the 2025/26 tax year is £20,000. The tax year runs from the 6th April to 5th April each year. (A quick reminder that you can’t carry over an allowance from a previous tax year.)
You can have multiple different types of ISAs (e.g. a Cash and Stocks and Shares ISA), however you are responsible for ensuring your contributions (how much you pay into your ISAs) doesn’t exceed £20,000 per tax year. You can also have multiple Stocks and Shares ISAs, if you’d like to try out different ways of investing!

InvestEngine offers a flexible ISA. With a flexible ISA you can withdraw and replace funds in your ISA allowance within the same year without losing any of your £20k allowance. Read more here Flexible ISA rules — so you can withdraw and replace funds within the same tax year without losing allowance

See ISA allowance: How much can I invest?

What kind of ISA does InvestEngine offer?

InvestEngine offers a Stocks & Shares ISA — ideal if you’re looking to invest in a low‑cost, diversified portfolio of ETFs.

We don’t currently offer Cash ISAs, Lifetime ISAs (LISAs), or Junior ISAs (JISAs), but you can keep up to date with our upcoming releases on our community.

You can find out more about our ISAs here.

Can I transfer my ISA?

Absolutely! You can transfer an ISA from another provider into InvestEngine, and it won’t affect your ISA allowance for the current tax year.

However, please note: ISA transfers may have implications for your investments. For example, if the transfer is completed as cash, your money could be out of the market for a period, meaning you may miss potential gains. Please consider all factors carefully before deciding to transfer. Full terms and conditions apply.

We support:

• In‑specie transfers in (where available from your provider)*
• Cash transfers in and out

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

We will endeavour to transfer as many of your current holdings (with your old provider) in‑specie as possible. This is subject to:

• Your old provider supporting in‑specie transfers

• The ETFs being available on our platform (you can check our ETF range here)

If you hold ETFs that aren’t currently available in our ETF range, they cannot be transferred. In this case, those securities will be sold by your old provider and transferred as cash.

You can read more about ISA transfers here

Is an ISA right for me?

If you’re a UK resident aged 18 or over and want to invest without worrying about future tax, a Stocks & Shares ISA is a great starting point.

It’s especially useful for:

• Long‑term investing goals
• Reducing your future tax bill
• Building a diversified portfolio with flexibility

If you’re not sure, it’s always good to seek advice from a financial or tax advisor.

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

For help opening your first portfolio, see Getting started with InvestEngine

Related articles: 

Which types of ISAs does InvestEngine offer?

ISA Allowance: How Much Can I Invest?

Can I Withdraw from My ISA?

What is an ISA Transfer?

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?

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)

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, 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?

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.

At InvestEngine, we focus on one thing ‑ helping you invest your wealth through low‑cost, long‑term investing. 

We currently don’t offer Cash ISAs, Lifetime ISAs (LISAs), or Junior ISAs (JISAs).

What we offer: Stocks & Shares ISA

Our ISA allows you to invest in a portfolio of exchange‑traded funds (ETFs), with:

• No platform fees (ETF Costs apply)
• Commission‑free investing for DIY portfolios
• Just 0.45% per year for 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
• Access to our full ETF range
• A Flexible ISA wrapper (so you can withdraw and replace funds within the same tax year)

You can choose to:

• Build your own portfolio using our DIY tools
• Let us manage it for you with a Managed or LifePlan portfolio
  *Managed and LifePlan options are not currently available

You can read more about portfolio types here

What we don’t offer (and why)

We currently don’t offer the following types of ISA:

• Cash ISA – These are more like savings accounts and don’t offer the potential growth the investing in ETFs could provide. The value of investments could also go down, and Cash ISAs may be more suitable for some people. If you require advice, please seek it independently.
• Lifetime ISA (LISA) – Aimed at saving for a first home or retirement, but with restrictions and penalties for early withdrawal.
• Junior ISA (JISA) – Designed for saving on behalf of a child under 18.

Our focus is on helping adult UK residents invest tax‑efficiently for the long term, through diversified investment portfolios. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change.

You can keep an eye on our product updates on our community page.

Why Stocks & Shares?

InvestEngine’s platform is built for investing in ETFs only — not individual stocks, shares, bonds, or other investment products.

That’s why we’ve designed our Stocks & Shares ISA to deliver:

• Full support on your investing journey with our Education Series and CX team~
• Low costs
• Full control and flexibility

See Why InvestEngine for more about our approach.

Ready to get started?

Opening an ISA portfolio takes just a few minutes. Click here to get started.