The Objective of this forum is to provide guidance to immigrants and other UK residents who are usually faced with tax issues. As we know, the UK government makes its money from taxes so living in the UK means you are required to be 100% compliant with all relevant tax laws.

However, these tax laws are several and often complicated, hence many people find themselves either over paying taxes or defaulting in complying with the laws. In this forum, I will share with you practical tips on how to follow the tax laws and comply with them while saving hundreds and thousands of pounds in taxes for yourself, your family and your business.

So, make this page and forum your go-to place for any issues and questions you have on UK Tax laws and savings.

ISAs ALLOWANCE

ISAs means Individual Savings Accounts. Every year, every individual who is a resident of the UK is allowed an allowance called ISAs Allowance. ISAs allowance is the amount of pounds that taxpayers in the UK are allowed to save into their ISAs account without having to pay tax on it.

So any interest incomes, dividends income, and gains that you make on the ISAs account is absolutely TAX FREE. You are not required to pay any tax on these incomes from this account.

The current ISAs Allowance in the current tax year is GBP20,000. The current Tax year started on 6th April 2022 and will end on the 5th April 2023. Please note that you can not save or invest more than the ISAs Allowance of GBP20,000 into your ISAs Account in a year. And any ISAs Allowance not utilized in any tax year can not be carried forward to a new year as it is lost.

TYPES OF ISAs
The common types of ISAs account you can open are:
1. Stock/Shares ISAs- this type of ISAs allows you to invest your savings in ISAs in stocks/shares of companies listed on the UK stock exchange such as TESCO shares and mutual funds such as the Vanguard Funds, etc. Stock ISAs are risky as you might lose part of your savings if the stock prices go down.

2. Cash ISAs- This ISAs is similar to a fixed deposit as the savings in it are invested in liquid assets like treasury bills which can easily be converted to cash without the risk of losing your money.

3. Lifetime ISAs- This type of ISAs is suitable for retirement or people who want to save towards their first mortgage to buy a home in the UK. It offers a powerful advantage because the UK government gives you 25% of whatever amount you save in it in a year for free! I love free things! And I hope you do too. This is to support you to save for long term or to buy your first home in the UK.

japhethGold:

ISAs ALLOWANCE

ISAs means Individual Savings Accounts. Every year, every individual who is a resident of the UK is allowed an allowance called ISAs Allowance. ISAs allowance is the amount of pounds that taxpayers in the UK are allowed to save into their ISAs account without having to pay tax on it.

So any interest incomes, dividends income, and gains that you make on the ISAs account is absolutely TAX FREE. You are not required to pay any tax on these incomes from this account.

The current ISAs Allowance in the current tax year is GBP20,000. The current Tax year started on 6th April 2022 and will end on the 5th April 2023. Please note that you can not save or invest more than the ISAs Allowance of GBP20,000 into your ISAs Account in a year. And any ISAs Allowance not utilized in any tax year can not be carried forward to a new year as it is lost.

TYPES OF ISAs
The common types of ISAs account you can open are:
1. Stock/Shares ISAs- this type of ISAs allows you to invest your savings in ISAs in stocks/shares of companies listed on the UK stock exchange such as TESCO shares and mutual funds such as the Vanguard Funds, etc. Stock ISAs are risky as you might lose part of your savings if the stock prices go down.

2. Cash ISAs- This ISAs is similar to a fixed deposit as the savings in it are invested in liquid assets like treasury bills which can easily be converted to cash without the risk of losing your money.

3. Lifetime ISAs- This type of ISAs is suitable for retirement or people who want to save towards their first mortgage to buy a home in the UK. It offers a powerful advantage because the UK government gives you 25% of whatever amount you save in it in a year for free! I love free things! And I hope you do too. This is to support you to save for long term or to buy your first home in the UK.

I read somewhere that the Government can pay you that percentage twice in a year if you pay in month twice between specific months. How true is this please?

Government bonus of 25% on top of your periodic savings in the lifetime ISAs is paid into your account monthly by the HMRC. Your investment fund manager with whom you maintain the lifetime ISAs account will interface with HMRC to claim the 25% bonus on your behalf and remit it to your account every month.

Amarathripple0:

I read somewhere that the Government can pay you that percentage twice in a year if you pay in month twice between specific months. How true is this please?

Amarathripple0:

I read somewhere that the Government can pay you that percentage twice in a year if you pay in month twice between specific months. How true is this please?

I'm assuming what you meant is getting the bonus for 2 tax years within a calendar year. If that's the case, then yes it's true. Open your LISA just before the end of the tax year(5th April), make the maximum contribution of £4k to receive the full bonus for that tax year, do the same thing from 6th April (commencement of the new tax year) but before or at the latest the anniversary of your account opening and you would have received the full bonus twice within 12 months.

Estroller:


I'm assuming what you meant is getting the bonus for 2 tax years within a calendar year. If that's the case, then yes it's true. Open your LISA just before the end of the tax year(5th April), make the maximum contribution of £4k to receive the full bonus for that tax year, do the same thing from 6th April (commencement of the new tax year) but before or at the latest the anniversary of your account opening and you would have received the full bonus twice within 12 months.

Yes please, that’s what I was actually referring to. Thank you so much for this info. Can you please recommend a LISA service provider?. I used to work with Santander and I had a problem with their service so I’m looking for one that won’t hang my money for any reason. Thanks

Amarathripple0:

Yes please, that’s what I was actually referring to. Thank you so much for this info. Can you please recommend a LISA service provider?. I used to work with Santander and I had a problem with their service so I’m looking for one that won’t hang my money for any reason. Thanks

Moneybox. As per the bolded, not to probe but hope you know that you won't be able to access the funds for minimum of a year and when you do it will only be for the purchase of your 1st home and when you retire or when terminally ill, withdrawing outside those conditions will leave you with a punitive 25% charge.

Estroller:


Moneybox. As per the bolded, not to probe but hope you know that you won't be able to access the funds for minimum of a year and when you do it will only be for the purchase of your 1st home and when you retire or when terminally ill, withdrawing outside those conditions will leave you with a punitive 20% charge.

Oh wow, I didn’t know this. Thanks for clarifying. So I guess it’s passive funds that I’ll put in there then. That works for me. Thank you, will check out moneybox

Amarathripple0:

Oh wow, I didn’t know this. Thanks for clarifying. So I guess it’s passive funds that I’ll put in there then. That works for me. Thank you, will check out moneybox

You are welcome

Very interesting thread. We sure need more people on this thread

I guess the best ISAs to go for is the lifetime ISA yea?

japhethGold:
ISAs ALLOWANCE

ISAs means Individual Savings Accounts. Every year, every individual who is a resident of the UK is allowed an allowance called ISAs Allowance. ISAs allowance is the amount of pounds that taxpayers in the UK are allowed to save into their ISAs account without having to pay tax on it.

So any interest incomes, dividends income, and gains that you make on the ISAs account is absolutely TAX FREE. You are not required to pay any tax on these incomes from this account.

The current ISAs Allowance in the current tax year is GBP20,000. The current Tax year started on 6th April 2022 and will end on the 5th April 2023. Please note that you can not save or invest more than the ISAs Allowance of GBP20,000 into your ISAs Account in a year. And any ISAs Allowance not utilized in any tax year can not be carried forward to a new year as it is lost.

TYPES OF ISAs
The common types of ISAs account you can open are:
1. Stock/Shares ISAs- this type of ISAs allows you to invest your savings in ISAs in stocks/shares of companies listed on the UK stock exchange such as TESCO shares and mutual funds such as the Vanguard Funds, etc. Stock ISAs are risky as you might lose part of your savings if the stock prices go down.

2. Cash ISAs- This ISAs is similar to a fixed deposit as the savings in it are invested in liquid assets like treasury bills which can easily be converted to cash without the risk of losing your money.

3. Lifetime ISAs- This type of ISAs is suitable for retirement or people who want to save towards their first mortgage to buy a home in the UK. It offers a powerful advantage because the UK government gives you 25% of whatever amount you save in it in a year for free! I love free things! And I hope you do too. This is to support you to save for long term or to buy your first home in the UK.