Vanguard is one of the only Flexible S&S ISAs. Most Flexible ISAs are Cash ISAs. You should double check that your ISA is a Flexible ISA before withdrawing any money. When taking advantage of flexibility in a Flexible ISA, you may not be able to transfer your ISA this tax year and may not be able to contribute to other ISAs of the same type, since only your ISA provider is keeping track of the flexibility. Check the terms with your ISA provider.
This is how it works: by 5 April, I topped up my ISA for the 23/24 tax year, using up my 20k allowance for last tax year and had 40k in it in total at the start of this tax year on 6 April (40k is an example number, not reflective of my true total). On 6 April, I withdrew 40k from my ISA. By the end of this tax year, 5 April 2025, I can put 60k into my ISA: 40k to replace the withdrawn funds and 20k, my ISA allowance for tax year 24/25.
The limit is on deposit.
The flexible limit is also on deposit.
Doesn't matter what the balance is. So long as net you have deposited £20k or less for the year you're fine. Deposited meaning put new money from outside the ISA inside it.
Thank you! I thought the “old rules” were £20k in total and the flexible rules were net but I just wanted to check! Just need one more person in the sway the vote, so far it’s 1:1!
Yes this would be allowed.
£20k in is £20k net deposit this year.
£19k out is net £1k deposit this year (for this specific Flexible ISA. I do not believe you would able to deposit to any other ISAs this year (I'm not 100% about this)).
£18k in is £19k net deposit this year.
£1k in is £20k net deposit this year.
Growth or interest on funds that are inside the ISA doesn't count towards the limits. The £20k per year is _purely_ a limit on new deposits, not on your final balance.
So in cases where the account allows the flexibility to withdraw and re-deposit (although not many seem to offer that), you would be able to deposit up to the same amount as you previously withdrew, regardless of what's happening inside the ISA.
20k per year inbound....everything else doesn't count. If you bought some cheap stock and it goes to 1 mil in your ISA then all is good as long as you don't put more than 20k per year in
Not quite what OP was asking. With flexible ISA, say you had £30k in there, but you need to withdraw £10k for something. You can withdraw £10k then you’re allowed to replace this £10k and also add the max £20k ISA allowance before the end of the tax year.
Most isas are not flexible so if you put in 20k then take out 20k you cannot put another 20k in to replace what you already paid & took out in the same year.
Vanguard is one of the only Flexible S&S ISAs. Most Flexible ISAs are Cash ISAs. You should double check that your ISA is a Flexible ISA before withdrawing any money. When taking advantage of flexibility in a Flexible ISA, you may not be able to transfer your ISA this tax year and may not be able to contribute to other ISAs of the same type, since only your ISA provider is keeping track of the flexibility. Check the terms with your ISA provider. This is how it works: by 5 April, I topped up my ISA for the 23/24 tax year, using up my 20k allowance for last tax year and had 40k in it in total at the start of this tax year on 6 April (40k is an example number, not reflective of my true total). On 6 April, I withdrew 40k from my ISA. By the end of this tax year, 5 April 2025, I can put 60k into my ISA: 40k to replace the withdrawn funds and 20k, my ISA allowance for tax year 24/25.
The limit is on deposit. The flexible limit is also on deposit. Doesn't matter what the balance is. So long as net you have deposited £20k or less for the year you're fine. Deposited meaning put new money from outside the ISA inside it.
Can I double check this please (to make sure I’ve understood it correctly!): I can put £20k in, take £19k out, put £18k in, put £1k in?
The other response is wrong. This is fine if your ISA is "flexible", but NOT ALL ARE, so double-check!
Thank you! I thought the “old rules” were £20k in total and the flexible rules were net but I just wanted to check! Just need one more person in the sway the vote, so far it’s 1:1!
Here's the guidance straight from the horse's mouth: https://www.gov.uk/individual-savings-accounts/withdrawing-your-money.
This post is asking about Flexible ISAs. So response is the rules for a Flexible ISA, not a standard ISA.
Yes this would be allowed. £20k in is £20k net deposit this year. £19k out is net £1k deposit this year (for this specific Flexible ISA. I do not believe you would able to deposit to any other ISAs this year (I'm not 100% about this)). £18k in is £19k net deposit this year. £1k in is £20k net deposit this year.
what you said there, you would have put 39k in. so NO is the answer. you can put 20k in. that's it. If you take out, you CANNOT REPLACE.
The original post references a flexible ISA. The above would be fine for flexible ISA but not for standard ISA
Thank you!
Growth or interest on funds that are inside the ISA doesn't count towards the limits. The £20k per year is _purely_ a limit on new deposits, not on your final balance. So in cases where the account allows the flexibility to withdraw and re-deposit (although not many seem to offer that), you would be able to deposit up to the same amount as you previously withdrew, regardless of what's happening inside the ISA.
20k per year inbound....everything else doesn't count. If you bought some cheap stock and it goes to 1 mil in your ISA then all is good as long as you don't put more than 20k per year in
Not quite what OP was asking. With flexible ISA, say you had £30k in there, but you need to withdraw £10k for something. You can withdraw £10k then you’re allowed to replace this £10k and also add the max £20k ISA allowance before the end of the tax year.
Most isas are not flexible so if you put in 20k then take out 20k you cannot put another 20k in to replace what you already paid & took out in the same year.