ISA Allowance Calculator 2026/27
Check how much of your £20,000 ISA allowance is left this tax year. Enter what you've paid into each type of ISA to see your remaining allowance, LISA bonus and the countdown to 6 April.
Last updated 2 July 2026 · Written and reviewed by Mustafa Bilgic
ISA allowance calculator
Across cash, stocks & shares, Lifetime and IF ISAs.
Estimate only — figures use the latest published UK rates. Always confirm on GOV.UK.
How the £20,000 ISA allowance works
Every UK adult gets a £20,000 ISA allowance for the 2026/27 tax year, and it's a single pot shared across all four adult ISA types: cash ISAs, stocks & shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs. You can split it however you like and pay into several ISAs with different providers in the same year — the only rule that matters is that your total contributions stay within £20,000. Interest, dividends and gains inside an ISA are free of UK tax, which is why using the allowance beats leaving spare cash in an ordinary account earning taxable interest; our savings interest calculator shows the difference quickly.
If you've paid £5,000 into a cash ISA, £8,000 into a stocks & shares ISA and £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA, you've used £17,000 — leaving £3,000 of your £20,000 allowance. Your LISA is maxed at £4,000, earning the full £1,000 government bonus this year.
Lifetime ISA rules at a glance
The Lifetime ISA is the odd one out: it has its own £4,000 sub-limit which counts inside your £20,000, and the government adds a 25% bonus — up to £1,000 a year — on whatever you pay in.
| LISA rule | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Annual limit | £4,000 (inside the £20,000) |
| Government bonus | 25% — max £1,000 a year |
| Age to open | 18–39 |
| Pay in until | Age 50 |
| Penalty-free withdrawals | First home up to £450,000, or age 60+ |
| Other withdrawals | 25% charge |
That 25% withdrawal charge stings: it claws back the bonus and a slice of your own money, so a LISA only makes sense if you're genuinely saving for a first home under £450,000 or for later life. If retirement is the goal, compare it against a pension with our pension contribution calculator and pension drawdown calculator.
Junior ISAs and use-it-or-lose-it
Children get their own Junior ISA allowance of £9,000 per child, completely separate from your £20,000. And the adult allowance is strictly use-it-or-lose-it: it runs by tax year (6 April to 5 April), does not roll over, and resets on 6 April — which is why the calculator counts down the days for you. Left invested over decades, each year's allowance compounds meaningfully; try our compound interest calculator to see how.
The cash ISA change from April 2027
Announced at Autumn Budget 2025: from 6 April 2027 the amount you can put into a cash ISA falls to £12,000 a year, though savers aged 65 and over keep the full £20,000 cash limit. The overall £20,000 allowance is unchanged — the remainder can still go into stocks & shares or other investment ISAs. If you're a committed cash saver under 65, the 2026/27 year is the last chance to shelter a full £20,000 in cash. Official ISA rules are on GOV.UK.
Flexible ISAs
Some providers offer flexible ISAs, which let you withdraw money and replace it within the same tax year without using up more allowance. Not all ISAs are flexible — Lifetime ISAs aren't, and many fixed-rate cash ISAs aren't either — so check before you withdraw, and note our calculator assumes ordinary (non-flexible) contributions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ISA allowance for 2026/27?
£20,000 across cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, Lifetime ISAs and Innovative Finance ISAs. The Lifetime ISA has its own £4,000 sub-limit that counts within the £20,000, and Junior ISAs have a separate £9,000 allowance per child.
Can I pay into more than one ISA in the same tax year?
Yes. You can split the £20,000 across several ISAs and providers in the same tax year — for example a cash ISA, a stocks and shares ISA and a Lifetime ISA — as long as your total contributions stay within the allowance.
How does the Lifetime ISA bonus work?
The government adds 25% to what you pay in, up to £1,000 a year on the £4,000 maximum. You must be 18 to 39 to open one and can pay in until 50. Withdrawals for anything other than a first home up to £450,000, or from age 60, usually face a 25% charge.
What happens to unused ISA allowance?
It is lost. The allowance runs per tax year (6 April to 5 April) and does not roll over — anything you have not used by 5 April disappears when the new tax year's allowance starts.
Is the cash ISA allowance changing?
Yes. From 6 April 2027 the amount you can put into a cash ISA falls to £12,000 a year, although savers aged 65 and over keep the full £20,000 for cash. The overall £20,000 ISA allowance is unchanged — the rest can go into investment ISAs. The change was announced at Autumn Budget 2025.