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A guide to cash ISAs

ISAs (which is short for Individual Savings Accounts) offer a great, tax-free way to save and make the most of your money.

 

Whether you’re saving for a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, building up a deposit for a home or just creating a sunny day fund, they can be a great way to help you grow your money quickly – this is because any interest or investment income you earn isn’t taxed.

 

As you may know, you can open an ISA if you’re a UK resident aged 18 or over; a Junior Cash ISA is for anyone under 18.

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Save tax-free
Up to £20,000 (£9,000 for a Junior stocks and shares ISA or a Junior cash ISA) for the 2025/2026 tax year and grow your savings and investments without paying tax on the interest you earn.
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Find your fit
Choose from our range of cash ISA products, based on whether you want the peace of mind of a fixed rate or access to your money.
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Sit back and relax
If you want to transfer your ISA from elsewhere, just let us know and we'll do the rest.

We have cash ISAs to suit different needs

At Coventry Building Society we offer a number of different ISAs, depending on the level of access you think you might need to your money. Whether you’re saving for that new car, a house or your children's future, we can help you decide which cash ISA is best for you.
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Fixed rate ISA

Mary's story

Fixed rates are good to help you earn interest on lump sums that you don’t need to access for a while. However, they don’t come with any flexibility because they’re not designed to allow withdrawals within the fixed term. You can only withdraw funds before the end of the fixed term by closing the account which will likely incur a charge.

 

Mary's saved some money that she knows she won't need to access any time soon, so a fixed ISA is ideal for her. It means Mary can put her money away for a fixed period of time (typically 1-5 years) with peace of mind that she's working towards her goals.

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Flexible ISA

Brendan's story

Some cash ISAs can also be flexible, allowing you to withdraw money and replace it later (within the same tax year) without it impacting your annual allowance.

Brendan has some savings but feels more comfortable knowing he can dip into them as and when he needs to access them. A flexible ISA allows him to save for his family's future tax-free, but gives him the flexibility to take money out in case he needs it for unforeseen house repairs. He can replace it within the same tax year without it counting towards his annual allowance.

 

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Junior Cash ISA

Toyin’s story

Money saved into a Junior ISA (or JISA) can become a valuable nest egg that will grow in value until a child’s 18th birthday, at which point the account is converted into an adult ISA.

 

As a new mum, it's really important to Toyin that she begins to save for her son's financial future early on. A Junior cash ISA is designed for children under the age of 18, so it gives her reassurance that she's making the most of his savings tax-free.

 

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Additional Allowance ISA

Jeff’s story

An Additional Allowance ISA is an extra ISA allowance available to surviving spouses or civil partners.

This means when Jeff inherited his husband's ISA, he was able to contribute an additional tax-free amount on top of his annual ISA allowance. The additional amount allowed was equal to the value of his husband's ISA when he passed away.

 

 

Ready to open an ISA?

View our cash ISAs

Annual ISA allowance - what do I need to know?

This tax year, you can save or invest up to £20,000 tax-free across different types of ISAs and with multiple banks, building societies or other financial institutions. While we specialise in cash ISAs, you might see that other providers have stocks and shares, Lifetime and innovative finance ISAs available.
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Annual ISA allowance allocation

You can split your allowance across different types of ISAs per tax year.
Annual ISA allowance allocation
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Annual ISA allowance allocation

While you can open multiple ISAs in the same tax year, you'll only be able to pay some or all of your current ISA allowance in to one cash ISA with us. Other providers may allow deposits to multiple cash ISAs in the same tax year, within the £20,000 annual allowance. 
Annual ISA allowance allocation (with Coventry Building Society)
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Can I carry over any unused ISA allowance to the next tax year?

No. Your annual allowance applies each tax year - starting from 6 April and ending 12 months later on 5 April.

If you don't use your full allowance in a tax year, any remaining allowance won't roll over. However, the good news is your allowance will reset every 6 April when the new tax year begins.

This means, for example, if you add £17,000 to your ISA before the end of the tax year on 5 April, when the new tax year begins on 6 April, you could add £20,000.

I’ve opened a cash ISA with another provider but haven’t paid into it yet. Can I still open a new ISA with you?

Yes, you can pay into multiple ISAs in the same tax year, and these can be with different providers. While the annual tax-free ISA allowance is still £20,000, you can spread your allowance across multiple providers to best suit your savings goals.

You can only have one cash ISA with us for your current year’s allowance, but you can split previous years’ deposits across multiple ISAs, e.g. you could open three cash ISAs with us and divide your previous years’ deposits between a fixed ISA and an easy access ISA and pay the current year’s deposits into the third cash ISA (if the specific terms of the account allow this). 

ISA tax benefits explained

What does tax-free mean to me?
Depending on which tax band you’re in you could be paying tax on the interest you earn on your savings. However saving money in an ISA is completely tax-free. Learn more about your Personal Savings Allowance to understand how this can affect you.

Is the ISA allowance separate from my Personal Savings Allowance?

Yes, ISA savings are separate from your Personal Savings Allowance. So if you’re a basic rate taxpayer, you can additionally earn up to your £1,000 interest from your non-ISA savings accounts, without paying tax.

 

Learn more about Personal Savings Allowance here.

Want help?
Our help section is bursting with useful information. If you'd rather chat, just give us a call.

 

Help

Call us on 0800 121 8899

Lines closed
  • Mon-Fri 8am-7pm
  • Saturday 9am-2pm
  • Sunday & Bank holidays Closed

Yesterday, people waited on average 

17 seconds for savings enquiries
17 seconds for mortgage enquiries

Call us

Want help?
Our help section is bursting with useful information. If you'd rather chat, just give us a call.

 

Help
Get in touch

Call us on

0800 121 8899

Monday - Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Bank holidays
8am - 7pm
9am - 2pm
Closed
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Yesterday, people waited on average

4 minutes for savings enquiries

18 seconds for mortgage enquiries

Call us

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