As well as not requiring you to pay any tax on interest earned, an easy-access cash ISA doesn’t impose any limitations on how and when you can withdraw the money you’ve saved up. This guide will help you compare what accounts are out there to find the best easy-access cash ISA for you. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guarantees that it will step in to compensate the first £85,000 (£170,000 for a joint account) you have saved with a UK-authorised bank, building society or credit union in the event that the business goes bust.
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How we picked theseA cash ISA is a savings account in which you won’t have to pay tax on any savings interest you earn. There is an annual cap on the amount of funds you can deposit into an ISA.
In an “easy-access” cash ISA, there are no (or barely any) hurdles to jump through to withdraw your funds.
If an ISA is labelled as “instant-access”, this usually means you can withdraw funds the same day. With some other “easy-access” ISAs, however, you might have to wait 24 hours for your funds to be transferred.
The main benefit is that you can earn tax-free interest on your savings, but still withdraw your money hassle-free – for example, if you need to take care of an emergency payment.
Some of the other cash ISAs you might come across include fixed-rate cash ISAs and notice cash ISAs.
Fixed-rate cash ISAs tend to offer higher interest rates than easy-access accounts, and the rate is fixed for a defined amount of time. Terms typically last between 1 and 5 years. However, in return, you won’t be able to withdraw your cash during this fixed-rate period, without paying a hefty penalty. Many fixed-rate ISAs also won’t allow additional deposits into the account.
Notice cash ISAs, meanwhile, require you to give a set amount of notice – say 60 or 90 days – before you can access your money. Interest rates are typically higher than easy-access accounts but lower than fixed-rate deals.
The only important factor separating the best easy-access ISA from the rest is the interest rate being offered. You can quickly find the easy-access ISAs offering the best rate using any price comparison website.
| Rates up to | 5.46% AER |
|---|---|
| Number of accounts | 580 |
| Number of brands | 98 |
| Minimum investment | £0 |
| Maximum investment | £150,000 |
| Opening options | Website, mobile app, branch, post, telephone |
If you need easy access to your savings but still want to earn some interest while your funds are stored away, easy-access ISAs are a great option as you won’t pay tax on any of the interest earned. However, if you can afford to lock away some of your cash for a set time, you’ll usually get a better interest rate with a notice account or fixed-rate ISA.
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