What is a Stocks and Shares ISA?

You can open a Stocks and Shares ISA if you are a UK resident aged 18 or over.

Stocks and Shares ISAs are suitable for individuals who are confident making their own investment decisions. 

You can invest up to £20,000 in your Stocks and Shares ISA each tax year. This is the ISA allowance for 2021-22.

But remember, the ISA allowance applies to all ISA accounts you may hold. For example, if you have a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Cash ISA, the £20,000 allowance is the total you can invest across both accounts.

In each tax year, you can invest money in one of each type of ISA. 

For example, you can contribute money to a Cash ISA, a Stocks and Shares ISA and a Lifetime ISA in the same tax year. However, you cannot contribute money to two Stocks and Shares ISAs.

There is no limit to the number of ISAs you can have in your lifetime. 

A flexible ISA allows investors to transfer money out of their ISA and then put it back in without using additional ISA allowance. 

The ii Stocks and Shares ISA is not a flexible ISA. If you take transfer money out of your ii Stocks and Shares ISA, you will not be able to replace this without using your remaining ISA allowance. You can top-up your ISA, but only up to the annual ISA allowance limit.

If you move abroad, you cannot add money to your ISAs after the end of the tax year in which you moved.

However, you will be able to keep your existing ISAs open and leave your money invested. You can add money to your ISAs again if you return to live in the UK. 

For more information please see the HMRC guidelines on moving abroad.

When you die, your ISA forms part of your estate, and will be subject to inheritance tax like any other asset. It will remain open until either the administration of the estate is completed, or it is closed by the executor. If neither of these happen, it will be closed three years after your death.

You can leave your ISA to whoever you choose in your will. If you have a Stocks and Shares ISA, the investments can be transferred to your beneficiary, or they can be sold and the proceeds paid to the beneficiary.

Your spouse or civil partner can inherit a one-off additional ISA allowance, equal to the value of the deceased's ISA account. This is known as Additional Permitted Subscription (APS).

When you die, your spouse or civil partner inherits a one-off additional ISA allowance. This is known as Additional Permitted Subscription. In other words, it’s an additional allowance on top of their personal ISA allowance.

The allowance is equal to the value of your ISA on the day it closes, or the day you died, whichever is higher. This value is added on to the normal ISA allowance of £20,000.

As your spouse or civil partner will not have to pay inheritance tax on your estate, they could inherit your ISA tax free. Then they could then transfer your ISA into their own using Additional Permitted Subscription. 

The remaining spouse or civil partner can claim APS even if the ISA has been left for someone else in the deceased's will. Find out more about Additional Permitted Subscription.

You can transfer your ISA at any time.

Make sure you transfer using our online ISA transfer process – either during account opening, or by logging in to your online account.

If you choose to withdraw and transfer the cash yourself, you will use up additional ISA allowance – the online transfer process ensures this doesn’t happen.

You can transfer Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISA to ii. 

Transferring a Cash ISA into an ii Stocks and Shares ISA gives you the potential for better gains (but stocks and shares also come with a risk of loss).

If you transfer your Stocks and Shares ISA, you can keep your existing investments or sell them and transfer in cash. 

You can also transfer Lifetime ISAs to an ii Stocks and Share ISA. However, you will have to pay a 20% government withdrawal charge.

If you are transferring this year’s ISA, you must transfer all of it. 

If you are transferring ISAs from previous years, you can transfer all or part of it. To do this, you must select ‘Previous Years Only’ transfer when using the online transfer form. 

The transfer usually takes about 6 weeks if you transfer your existing investments. If you sell your investments and transfer in cash, the transfer takes up to 4 weeks.

As a member of TISA Exchange Limited (TEX), we are able to transfer investments between providers electronically. If your existing provider is not a member, we will need you to send us a transfer form, which can take longer.

If you want to trade while your transfer is in progress, most providers will be able to facilitate this as long as your investments aren’t in the process of being re-registered. 

You should contact your current provider to place your trade(s). Don’t forget to keep both them and us updated on the changes to the investments in your account. We can’t be held liable for any missed opportunity if you choose not to trade while your transfer is in flight.

The deadline for investing in an ISA this tax year is 5 April 2022. 

You can use your ISA allowance for 2021-22 at any point up to that date. After that date, you can invest in an ISA using your ISA allowance for 2022-23. 

You can hold a wide range of investments within your Stocks and Shares ISA. The most common investment types include:

• Shares

• Funds

• Investment trusts

• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

• Corporate and government bonds

By opening an ii Stocks and Shares ISA, you can pick from more than 40,000 investment options to build your ISA portfolio. We also have a range of investments ideas selected by our experts to help you get started, including Quick-start Funds, ii Super 60 and ii ACE 40. 

Only pounds sterling (GBP) can be held in an ISA.

If you buy or sell international investments that are quoted in a different currency, you will need to settle these in GBP sterling. Please be aware this will incur foreign exchange charges. For more information, please refer to our charges page.

To withdraw money from your ISA, log in to your account and select cash & transfers > withdraw/transfer cash from the menu. Then follow the instructions on screen for a bank transfer.

The timescale for withdrawing cash is the next working day if you make the withdrawal before 2pm, and two business days if you make the withdrawal after 2pm. If you are selling shares, you will not be able to withdraw the funds until after the trade has settled.

You can check your ISA allowance by logging into your account. Simply scroll down your overview page to view your Current ISA Allowance.

Please also remember to consider any money you have contributed to other types of ISAs, as these also count towards your £20,000 total allowance.

You don't need to re-apply but, if there is a break in tax years since your last subscription, you will need to provide some information to help us comply with the ISA Regulations.

To reactivate your ISA:

1. Log in into your account.
2. Go to account > add an account.
3. Select Account Upgrades and then choose the ISA Missed Tax Year option.
4. Then confirm your date of birth and National Insurance Number.