Junior Stocks and Shares ISA

The cash and investments in a Junior ISA remain locked away until the child turns 18. At that point your childs ISA becomes a standard ISA and the funds become available to withdraw.

Only a parent or legal guardian can open and manage a Junior ISA, but anybody can pay into it up to the £9,000 annual limit.

A grandparent can set up a Junior ISA if they are the child’s legal guardian.

No, a child cannot have both a Child Trust Fund and a Junior ISA. The government replaced CTFs with Junior ISA in 2011 and both accounts benefit from having no income or capital gains tax.

• Learn about the differences between a Child Trust Fund and a Junior ISA, and why some people choose to switch.

Yes, a child can have one Junior ISA of each type. The Junior ISA allowance of £9,000 must be split across both accounts if a child has one of each.

Anybody can pay money into a Junior ISA either by bank transfer or by cheque. Find out how to make Junior ISA contributions here.

However, only the parent or guardian can set up a direct debit.

Please check the remaining Junior ISA allowance for the current tax year before adding money.

A parent (Registered Contact) can only close a Junior ISA during the initial cooling off period. There are exceptions to this where a JISA can be closed:

• upon the death of the child
• when the child turns 18 (turns into an adult ISA)
• HMRC instruction (e.g. too many ISAs opened)

A Junior ISA can't be closed just because the child is no longer a resident in the UK. It will remain open and you will still be able to add cash, it can also be transferred between providers. However, a new Junior ISA could not be opened on behalf of such a child. 

Junior ISAs themselves aren't considered risky, but investments are riskier than cash as returns aren't guaranteed. Once you contribute to a Junior ISA, the cash can't be taken out until it matures into an adult ISA. So you can't move the cash into another savings product where you might get back higher returns.

Inflation can also play a part and can rise faster than your investments grow. In real terms this could mean that your child's saving are worth less.

A Junior ISA, and any cash deposited into one, is legally owned by the child, but it is operated by the designated Registered Contact. This can be a parent or legal guardian. The cash can only be withdrawn by the child, once they become an adult.