What happens to my ISA if I move abroad?

Written by
Eszter Z.
Fact checked by
Gyula L.
Updated
Jan 2024
What happens to my ISA if I move abroad?

Are you a UK citizen or resident? Are you looking for an investment with low risk? Do you want to grow your wealth in a tax-efficient way? If the answer to all these questions is yes, an ISA (Individual Savings Account) is a perfect choice. An ISA is a great tool to grow your savings and investments tax-free, and any UK resident is eligible for these accounts.

But let's see what happens if you decide to move out of the UK.

THE ESSENCE:

  • You can keep your ISA and still get the UK tax relief on the money parked in it.
  • However, you can’t contribute money to the accounts, but you can pay again if you return.
  • Withdrawals are allowed on the same conditions as living in the UK

What happens to my ISA if I move abroad?

In a nutshell, while workers can live abroad, their ISAs will stay in the UK.

If you have an ISA and take a job overseas, you can’t contribute to your ISA after the tax year that you moved in. However, the great news is that you can still keep your accounts, and your savings and investments stay free from taxes. You can pay again into your accounts if you move back to the UK.

You can withdraw from your ISA account while being abroad with the same conditions as if you were residing in the UK.

What are the benefits of ISA?

ISAs are tax-free investment accounts in the United Kingdom. You can choose the type of ISA that best suits your savings and investment goals. ISAs are accessible products that allow you to withdraw your money when you need it. You can have multiple accounts at the same time but the maximum allowance is £20,000 for these accounts in a tax year. 

Let's recap the differences between the account types!

Type of ISA What is it?  Age Main features
Cash ISA Savings account 16+ £20,000 annual allowance. Tax-free interest.
Lifetime ISA House deposit and/or retirement savings account 18-39 £4,000 annual allowance with 25% top-up. Tax-free interest.
Junior ISA Savings account Under 18 £9,000 annual allowance. Tax-free interest.
Stocks and Shares ISA Investment account 18+ £20,000 annual allowance. Tax-free gains, dividends, and interest.
Innovative Finance ISA P2P lending investment 18+ £20,000 annual allowance. P2P lending and tax-free interest.

Read more about everything you need to know about ISAs.

Which is the best ISA broker?

We at BrokerChooser want to help you make sense of a complicated financial world by doing the research for you. Our skilled team put together a unique methodology that allows us to review brokers and collect the best brokers to open an ISA account

Being financially independent and conscious is very important, so congratulations on beginning your journey! We collected all data you need to know about the best investment providers in the United Kingdom.

If you need any help or have any suggestions, head over to the BrokerChooser community page!

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Further reading

Author of this article

Eszter Zalán
Eszter Zalán

Eszter is a former Editor and Financial Journalist for BrokerChooser. She wrote and edited BrokerChooser's content from 2021 onwards, bringing her more than a decade-long experience in journalism to the team. She has covered world affairs and several financial crises, and dove deep into SEO and coding to make BrokerChooser's content more accessible to users.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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