Progressive Online will be unavailable for essential maintenance from 10:00pm on 17 April to 9:00am on 20 April and again from 10:00pm on 24 April to 9:00am on 27 April. A full range of online savings accounts is available outside of these times.
What is an ISA?
An ISA is an Individual Savings Account where you do not pay tax on the interest earned.
What’s more, ISAs are NOT counted as part of your Personal Savings Allowance (PSA).
The Personal Savings Allowance, is the amount of interest earned on your savings before having to pay tax. Your allowance will depend on whether you are a basic, higher or additional-rate taxpayer.
Who can open an ISA?
If you’re a UK resident and 18 years of age or over, you can open an ISA.
What is the ISA allowance?
The ISA allowance is the maximum combined total amount you can save into ISA products in each tax year. You will receive a new ISA allowance each tax year, running from 6 April to 5 April the following year. If you don’t use your ISA allowance, you will lose it, as the allowance cannot run into the next tax year.
For the 2025/26 and 2026/27 tax years, the ISA allowance for all types of ISA is £20,000. From 6th April 2027, the Cash ISA allowance will be £20,000 if you are aged 65 or over, and £12,000 If you are over 18 and under 65. For Stocks and Shares ISAs, the allowance will remain at £20,000 for everyone over 18.
You can invest up to the full ISA allowance each tax year into an existing or a new ISA account. This means that if you have subscribed your full annual allowance to an existing ISA product with Progressive, once the next tax year starts, you can deposit your ISA allowance for the new tax year into your existing account. At Progressive, we can only accept subscriptions to one Cash ISA product in the same tax year. To move ISA funds between accounts, you must always use the receiving provider’s transfer in process.
Other benefits
We understand that life is rarely uneventful and there may be times you’ll need to dip into your savings. ISA flexibility gives you just that and some of our Cash ISAs offer that flexibility.
You can withdraw money from your Cash ISA (subject to the terms and conditions of your account) and replace it within the same tax year, without it affecting your annual tax allowance.
• Example 1: if you invest the full £20,000 in a tax year, you are able to withdraw £5,000 and deposit another £5,000 before the tax year is up.
• Example 2: you deposit £100 into your Progressive Cash ISA, then withdraw £30 and later replace that £30 within the same tax year, we will still only count £100 towards your £20,000 ISA allowance.
This means you can withdraw money and replace it within the same tax year without it counting again towards your annual ISA allowance, as long as the funds are paid back in before the tax year ends. Replacement money MUST be paid back into your account within the same tax year or your allowance will be affected.
Any interest your ISA earns does not count towards your allowance.
Please refer to your ISA’s Terms and Conditions to check whether your Progressive Cash ISA is flexible.
At Progressive, we offer ISA flexibility on our:
• Cash ISA Account
• 1 Year Double Access Cash ISA Account
Types of ISA
There are four types of ISA on the market, and without doubt the most popular is the Cash ISA. At Progressive we focus solely on Cash ISAs but below, you can find out more about the various ISAs available.
A savings account where you don’t pay tax on the interest you earn.
A Stocks and Shares ISA is a tax-efficient way to invest in a wide range of stocks, shares, funds, bonds and gilts.
Innovative Finance ISAs allow interest and gains from peer-to-peer loans to qualify for tax advantages.
Lifetime ISAs allow you to save up to the Lifetime ISA allowance each tax year and receive a government bonus of 25% of what you have saved. You can use some or all of the money to buy your first home or keep it until you are 60.
Please note, Progressive does not offer Stocks and Shares ISA, Innovative Finance ISA or Lifetime ISA.
Can I fund more than one ISA in a tax year?
You can make subscriptions to multiple ISAs of the same type in a tax year, except for Lifetime ISAs. Investors with a Lifetime ISA (LISA) are restricted to subscribing to one LISA per tax year.
The maximum combined amount you can have across all types of ISA each tax year is known as the ISA Allowance. All subscriptions you make to ISAs in a tax year must remain within the overall ISA Allowance limit.
At Progressive, we can only accept subscriptions to one Cash ISA product in the same tax year. However, you may subscribe to a Cash ISA with Progressive and to other Cash ISAs held with other ISA providers in the same tax year. All subscriptions must remain within the overall ISA Allowance limit.
Transferring ISAs
Did you know you can transfer some or all of your ISA funds from one provider to another at any time? If you want to transfer funds from another ISA provider to Progressive, you must use our transfer in process either in branch or online. You must always use the recipient provider’s transfer in process to protect your ISA savings tax-free status. You can also switch money from one type of ISA to another. For example, you can move money from a Cash ISA to a Stocks and Shares ISA. Not all ISA providers accept transfers however, so it’s always worth checking with the provider you’re hoping to transfer to.
If you’ve paid money into a Cash ISA with another provider during the current tax year, you’ll need to transfer all of those current year payments to Progressive. Current year contributions cannot be split or partly transferred. You can choose to transfer all or part of any money you paid into your non Progressive ISA in previous tax years, as long as your existing provider allows this. At Progressive we can take you through the transfer process so call in to one of our branches or call us on 0800 0294 997 and speak to us today.
Transferring your ISA to Progressive
If you’re moving a Cash ISA to Progressive, the transfer will normally take up to 15 working days from the date we receive your request. Please note it may take longer if your current ISA has a notice period. If you’re transferring any other type of ISA to Progressive, the process can take up to 30 days.
You can find out more information on how to transfer your cash ISA to Progressive here.
Transferring your ISA to another provider
If you’d like to move your ISA from Progressive to another provider, simply get in touch with your new provider. They’ll handle the transfer on your behalf. You must transfer the amount in your account representing current tax year subscriptions in full.
If they ask for your Progressive ISA details, you can provide:
• the 11-digit Progressive ISA Account number, (This can sometimes be referred to as a Roll number with other providers)
You can check your ISA account number by logging in to our Progressive online portal, or by checking any letters we’ve sent you. The transfer will usually take up to 15 working days once we receive your request.
Will transferring money affect my tax-free status?
Your tax-free status won’t be affected as long as you follow the correct process. Do not withdraw the money from your ISA yourself. Instead, simply contact your chosen ISA provider, complete a transfer form and they will organise the transfer for you.
At Progressive we accept the transfer of your Cash ISA or your Stocks and Shares ISA from another provider into the following Progressive Cash ISA accounts:
• Cash ISA (Issues 5 onwards) and Online Cash ISA
• Fixed and Variable Rate ISA Bonds
• 1 Year Double Access Cash ISA (branch and online)
You may transfer your existing Progressive Cash ISA to another ISA provider subject to the specific account terms and conditions. Your new ISA provider will ask you to complete a transfer form and they will send it to us to start the transfer process.
For further information please contact your local branch or call us on 0800 0297 997.
What happens if an ISA account holder passes away?
It’s not something we like to think about, but should the worst happen, there are some things you’ll need to know.
If you are the surviving spouse or civil partner of the person who has passed away, you can inherit an additional ISA allowance. This allowance is known as an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) or inherited ISA allowance.
This means that you will inherit the deceased’s ISA allowance, but not necessarily the balance of the ISA account. The allowance is available for 3 years after the date of death or 180 days after the administration of the Estate has been completed, whichever is longer.
If your spouse or civil partner died on or after 6 April 2018, your inherited ISA allowance will be either:
- The value of your partner’s ISA at time of passing or
- The value of the ISA at the point it ceases to be a Continuing ISA, whichever is the higher.
If your spouse or civil partner passed away between 3 December 2014 and 5 April 2018, your inherited ISA allowance will be the value of their ISA at the date of their death.
Please note at Progressive we can only accept an inherited ISA allowance from a surviving spouse or civil partner where the deceased ISA holder was an existing Member and held their Cash ISA with the Society.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept the transfer of an inherited ISA allowance from another ISA manager. The surviving spouse or civil partner may only make a one-off permitted subscription to their Progressive Cash ISA and we are unable to accept multiple subscriptions.
It’s worth noting, if the surviving spouse or civil partner does not subscribe the full amount of their inherited ISA allowance then any unused balance will be lost.