Junior ISA Accounts

A Junior ISA can be opened by anyone with 'parental responsibility' for a child or, if your child is between 16 and 18, they can open their own. 

Your child is eligible to open a new Junior ISA if they don't have a Child Trust Fund (CTF) and are under the age of 18. If your child is a UK resident and born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, they should be enrolled in the CTF scheme (a CTF will have been opened by the Treasury on their behalf if you did not use the Government voucher sent to you). However, old CTFs can be transferred to Junior ISAs, giving you plenty of options. Under current rules, CTF holders will also be able to open a cash ISA at the age of 16 and have the same dual allowance as Junior ISA holders.

Yes, from April 2015 Child Trust Funds can be transferred to Junior ISAs.

How much your child's nest egg will be worth will depend on:

• Where you choose to place their money
• How much you put into the Junior ISA
• The rate of return you get.
  
  

Remember that any funds placed in investments can fall as well as rise in value. Until the child reaches 16, those who have parental responsibility for the child will need to manage the ISA. Once the child reaches 16, they can start to manage their own pot (although they can't make any withdrawals until they are 18).

On maturity a JISA will usually automatically become an adult ISA. When this happens it is important for the owner of the account (which will be the child who the account was set up for) looks at the interest rate on the ISA and consider transferring funds to an ISA that pays a better rate.

You can save or invest up to £9,000 into a Junior ISA in the 2020/21 tax year (which runs from 6 April to the following 5 April).

The money in a JISA belongs to the child whose name it is under. The child won’t be able to access the funds in the account until they turn 18, but they can start managing their account from the age of 16.

Your child can hold one cash and one stocks & shares Junior ISA at any one time. You can choose how you allocate money between the two, so long as you don't exceed the total annual limit.

Other than the annual cap there is no limit on how you choose to save – you could place the entire allowance in a stocks & shares Junior ISA, although you then couldn't place any money in a cash Junior ISA in that tax year (or vice versa).

Each JISA will have its own conditions when it comes to transferring funds to another provider. Some JISAs will allow funds to be transferred out without a penalty, while some will allow this but impose a penalty (usually a loss of interest). As well as this, a JISA might not allow transfers in from another account, while for others this won’t be an issue. Due to this it is important to check the terms before opening the JISA.

Yes. Between the ages of 16 and 18, your child can have a Junior ISA and an adult cash ISA. Under the 2019/20 ISA limits, that means they can have £24,368 between a Junior ISA and an adult cash ISA (£29,000 in 2020/21). At 18, the Junior ISA becomes an adult one, and your child will be able to save or invest up to the adult ISA limits only.

No, the Government will not make any contributions into your child's Junior ISA.

Children can only have one junior cash ISA and one junior stocks and shares ISA per year. However, you must deposit no more than the 2020/21 tax year allowance of £9,000 in total between the two.

No. However, if one is set-up by the parents or legal guardians, then the grandparents can contribute up to the annual limit for that tax year. Currently, £9.000 in the 2020/21 tax year.