This year's allowances, in full
Every tax year, the Government sets fresh limits on how much you can save and invest before tax applies. Many of these allowances do not carry forward — unused allowance is simply lost when the tax year ends on 5 April. The table below sets out the key figures for the 2026/27 tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
| Allowance | 2026/27 limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ISA allowance (total) | £20,000 | Across Cash, Stocks & Shares, and Innovative Finance ISAs combined |
| Lifetime ISA | £4,000 | Counts within the £20,000 total; available to under-40s |
| Junior ISA | £9,000 | Separate from the adult allowance, per child |
| Personal Savings Allowance | £1,000 / £500 | Basic rate / higher rate taxpayers; nil for additional rate |
| Dividend allowance | £500 | Tax-free outside an ISA; rates above this rose 2 points this year |
| Capital Gains Tax exemption | £3,000 | Per individual; gains within an ISA are exempt entirely |
A change worth acting on: Cash ISAs from 2027
From 6 April 2027, the amount under-65s can pay into a Cash ISA each tax year will fall from £20,000 to £12,000. The overall £20,000 ISA allowance is not changing — the remaining £8,000 will still be available, but only through a Stocks and Shares ISA or other ISA type. Savers aged 65 and over keep the full £20,000 Cash ISA limit. This makes the current 2026/27 tax year the last opportunity to use the full £20,000 Cash ISA allowance if you are under 65 and prefer to hold cash.
This is exactly the kind of rule change that rewards planning ahead rather than reacting afterwards. For some people, the right response is to use this year's Cash ISA allowance while it's still available. For others — particularly those with a longer time horizon — this is a natural prompt to revisit how much of their savings should sit in cash versus invested assets, since cash sitting outside the new lower limit may otherwise become taxable.
Why asset allocation still matters most
Using your allowances is only half the picture — what you actually hold inside them matters just as much. Spreading investments across different asset types (shares, bonds, property, and cash) helps smooth out returns over time, because these assets rarely move in the same direction at the same time. A portfolio concentrated in one area carries more risk than one properly diversified across several.
How much risk is right for you depends heavily on your time horizon. Someone investing for a goal 20 years away can typically afford to ride out short-term volatility in pursuit of stronger long-term returns. Someone investing for a goal two years away generally cannot. We use detailed risk profiling as part of every investment recommendation, so the level of risk in your portfolio actually matches your circumstances and your comfort with uncertainty — not just a generic model.
What we actually do
- Review your current tax position — checking which allowances you're using, which you're missing, and what that's costing you each year.
- Build a personalised risk profile — based on your time horizon, goals, and genuine tolerance for investment ups and downs.
- Recommend whole-of-market solutions — ISAs, general investment accounts, and other tax-efficient wrappers from across the entire market, not a single provider's range.
- Plan around upcoming rule changes — including the 2027 Cash ISA changes, so your strategy isn't caught out by rules most people won't notice until it's too late.
- Review your plan annually — allowances, tax rates, and your own circumstances change every year, and your strategy should keep pace.