By MoneyWise UK Editorial Team | Last Updated: 25 September 2026 | Savings Accounts
You can have as many cash ISAs as you like, and since 6 April 2024 you can pay into more than one cash ISA in the same tax year. The limit is on money, not accounts: everything you pay into all your ISAs in 2026/27 must stay within £20,000. The exception is the Lifetime ISA, where you can only pay into one per tax year.
The interactive checker loads here. If it does not appear, add up everything paid into your ISAs since 6 April: the total must stay within £20,000, with no more than £4,000 in a Lifetime ISA.
£120,000 of protection per person, per banking licence
FSCS deposit protection rose from £85,000 to £120,000 on 1 December 2025. Cash ISAs at brands that share one banking licence share one limit. Source: FSCS.
How many cash ISAs can you have?
How many cash ISAs can I have is one of the most common ISA questions, and the short answer is: there is no limit on the number of cash ISAs you can hold. Old cash ISAs you opened in previous tax years stay open and keep earning tax-free interest for as long as you leave the money there.
What is limited is how much new money you pay in each tax year. For the 2026/27 tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, the overall ISA allowance is £20,000. That £20,000 is shared across every adult ISA you pay into: cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs and the Lifetime ISA.
So you could pay £8,000 into one cash ISA, £7,000 into a second cash ISA and £5,000 into a stocks and shares ISA in the same tax year. That is £20,000 in total and fully within the rules.
What changed in April 2024
Before 6 April 2024, you could only pay into one cash ISA per tax year. If you opened a new cash ISA with a better rate part way through the year, you had to transfer the whole current year balance across or stop paying into the first one.
HMRC removed that restriction from 6 April 2024. The main changes were:
- You can pay into more than one ISA of the same type in a tax year, as long as your total stays within the annual allowance.
- You can make a partial transfer of money paid in during the current tax year, rather than having to move all of it.
- You no longer need to reapply each year to keep paying into an ISA you already hold.
- The minimum age to open an adult cash ISA rose from 16 to 18, so under 18s save through a Junior ISA instead.
Two restrictions stayed in place. You can still only pay into one Lifetime ISA per tax year, and a Junior ISA can only receive payments into one cash Junior ISA and one stocks and shares Junior ISA per child each year.
ISA limits by type for 2026/27
| ISA type | How many can you pay into in 2026/27? | Yearly limit |
|---|---|---|
| Cash ISA | As many as you like | Shares the £20,000 overall allowance |
| Stocks and shares ISA | As many as you like | Shares the £20,000 overall allowance |
| Innovative finance ISA | As many as you like | Shares the £20,000 overall allowance |
| Lifetime ISA (age 18 to 39 to open) | One per tax year | £4,000, which counts towards the £20,000 |
| Junior ISA (under 18s) | One cash and one stocks and shares per child | £9,000 per child, separate from your own allowance |
A basic-rate taxpayer puts £10,000 into a one-year fixed rate cash ISA in May 2026. In September they add £4,000 to an easy access cash ISA with a different bank, and in January 2027 they pay £6,000 into a regular saver cash ISA.
Total paid in: £10,000 + £4,000 + £6,000 = £20,000. This is within the 2026/27 allowance, so all three accounts are valid. If they paid even £500 more into any ISA before 5 April 2027, that £500 would be an excess subscription that HMRC can ask the provider to remove.
Reasons to hold more than one cash ISA
Being allowed several cash ISAs does not mean you need them. One well chosen account is enough for many people. Holding more than one can make sense in these situations:
- Mixing access and rate. Some savers keep an easy access cash ISA for emergencies and a fixed rate cash ISA for money they will not need for a year or more.
- Chasing a better rate mid-year. If a new cash ISA pays more, you can open it and pay new money in without closing the old one.
- Staying within FSCS protection. FSCS protects up to £120,000 per person, per authorised bank or building society. Large balances can be spread across different banking licences.
- Separate goals. A house deposit pot and a holiday pot can sit in separate accounts, which some people find easier to manage.
A saver has built up £150,000 in cash ISAs over many years, all with one building society. FSCS protects up to £120,000 per person at one authorised firm, so £30,000 is above the protection limit.
By using the formal ISA transfer process to move £40,000 of old ISA savings to a cash ISA at a bank with a separate banking licence, both balances fall within the limit. Transfers of money from previous tax years do not use any of the £20,000 allowance for 2026/27.
Always move ISA money with the new provider’s transfer form. If you withdraw the cash yourself and pay it into another account, it loses its ISA status and paying it back in uses fresh allowance. The FSCS website lists which brands share a banking licence, and GOV.UK explains the transfer rules.
What changes from 6 April 2027
The government has confirmed changes to cash ISAs from 6 April 2027. You will still be able to hold and pay into several cash ISAs, but the amount of cash you can add will fall for most savers:
| Rule | 2026/27 | 2027/28 (from 6 April 2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Overall ISA allowance | £20,000 | £20,000 (unchanged) |
| Cash ISA limit, under 65 | Up to £20,000 | £12,000 across all cash ISAs |
| Cash ISA limit, 65 or over | Up to £20,000 | Up to £20,000 |
| Transfers from stocks and shares ISA to cash ISA | Allowed | Not allowed for under 65s |
| Number of cash ISAs you can pay into | As many as you like | As many as you like, within the cash limit |
Money already in cash ISAs is not affected. The £12,000 limit applies to new payments from 6 April 2027. The higher limit for over 65s applies from the start of the tax year in which you turn 65. Savings interest outside ISAs will also be taxed at 22%, 42% and 47% from April 2027, two percentage points above today’s rates, so the ISA wrapper becomes slightly more valuable. Our guide to the ISA allowance for 2026/27 covers the changes in more detail.
Mistakes to avoid
- Losing track of the total. With several accounts, it is easy to go over £20,000 without noticing. Each provider only sees its own account, so keeping your own running total matters.
- Paying into two Lifetime ISAs. This is still not allowed in one tax year, even though it is now fine for cash ISAs.
- Forgetting about interest-only accounts. Interest earned inside an ISA does not count towards the allowance. Only the money you pay in counts.
- Replacing withdrawals in the wrong account. If your cash ISA is flexible, you can usually put back money you took out in the same tax year without using extra allowance, but the replacement normally needs to go back into the same ISA. Check your provider’s terms.
If you have already paid in too much, our guide on what happens if you exceed your ISA allowance explains how HMRC deals with it and what to do next.
MoneyWise UK reviews publicly available UK guidance and trusted sources such as GOV.UK, HMRC, FCA and MoneyHelper. This guide is general information only, not personalised financial advice. Sources checked for this guide:
A common belief is that opening a second cash ISA in the same tax year breaks the rules and makes the new account void. That was true before April 2024, but not now. The rule that matters today is the £20,000 total you pay in, not how many cash ISAs you pay it into.
- There is no limit on how many cash ISAs you can hold.
- Since 6 April 2024 you can pay into several cash ISAs in the same tax year.
- Everything you pay into all ISAs in 2026/27 must total £20,000 or less.
- You can only pay into one Lifetime ISA per tax year (£4,000 maximum).
- From 6 April 2027, under 65s can pay up to £12,000 a year into cash ISAs in total.
- Use formal ISA transfers when moving money so it keeps its tax-free status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open two cash ISAs in the same tax year?
Yes. Since 6 April 2024 you can open and pay into two or more cash ISAs in the same tax year, as long as the total paid into all your ISAs stays within the £20,000 allowance for 2026/27.
Is there a limit on how many ISAs I can have in total?
No. You can keep as many ISAs from previous tax years as you like. The only limit is how much new money you can pay in each tax year.
Do ISA transfers count towards my £20,000 allowance?
No. Moving money you paid in during earlier tax years to another ISA provider does not use your current allowance, provided you use the formal transfer process.
Can I pay into a cash ISA and a Lifetime ISA in the same year?
Yes. You can pay up to £4,000 into one Lifetime ISA and the rest of your £20,000 allowance into cash ISAs or other ISAs. The Lifetime ISA payment counts towards the £20,000.
Will I still be able to have more than one cash ISA after April 2027?
Yes. The April 2027 changes limit how much cash under 65s can pay into cash ISAs each year to £12,000 in total, but they do not limit the number of cash ISAs you can hold or pay into.
What happens if I pay more than £20,000 into my ISAs?
HMRC checks ISA payments after the tax year ends. If you have paid in too much, it can tell the provider to remove the excess, and any interest earned on that excess may be taxable.
MoneyWise UK provides general information only. This is not financial advice. Figures are correct for the 2026/27 tax year as at the date shown and are based on official GOV.UK and HMRC guidance. Investments can fall as well as rise. Consider speaking to a regulated financial adviser before making major financial decisions.
This content is based on publicly available UK financial guidance and trusted sources such as GOV.UK, HMRC, FCA, and MoneyHelper. It is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Rules and rates may change, so check official sources before making decisions.
