A plain-English reference

Which UK account can hold your money?

A wrapper is the type of account your money sits in, and it decides the tax rules and when you can get the money out. The eight below are the ones most people in the UK come across. They are set out in alphabetical order, with the same eight rows on every card so you can read across them.

Read this first.

This is an information page. It is not advice. Sterling Almanac is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and cannot tell you what to do with your money.

This page does not recommend an account. It does not decide which one is right for you. It does not know your circumstances.

All it does is show the rules that HMRC and the government set for each type of account, and mark which of those rules are affected by the answers you give. All eight accounts stay on screen whatever you answer. Nothing is chosen, ranked, hidden or ordered for you, and the order is alphabetical.

Your answers stay on your device. Nothing you tap here is saved, sent anywhere or added to a web address.

Some of these decisions are hard to undo. Taking money out of a Lifetime ISA early can leave you with less than you put in, and decisions about pensions can be permanent.

For free, impartial guidance backed by government, MoneyHelper is at moneyhelper.org.uk. For advice about your own situation, you can find an adviser on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk.

First things first

Before any of these

Two things sit in front of all of it, whatever kind of account you end up using. Money you might need next month, because money that is invested can be worth less on the day you need it. And debt that is charging you a lot, because a credit card at 24% a year takes more off you each year than shares have historically returned. Neither of those is a question about accounts, so this page does not ask you about them. MoneyHelper, the government backed guidance service, covers both.

Optional

Add notes about the rules that touch you

Every question is optional, and answering changes nothing about which accounts you see. It only writes a note onto all eight cards saying which rule your answer touches.

The eight accounts, in alphabetical order

Cash ISA

In one line: A savings account with a tax free wrapper around it. The balance in pounds does not fall.
Who can open one: Aged 18 or over and resident in the UK.
The most you can put in this tax year: Up to £20,000, shared across every adult ISA you hold added together rather than each.
When the rules let you take the money out: Any time, though a fixed term account may deduct interest if you take money out before the end of the term.
What it costs to take money out early: Nothing from HMRC. A fixed term account may cost you some interest.
What the tax rules do: No Income Tax on the interest. The counterweight is that outside an ISA a basic rate taxpayer already has a Personal Savings Allowance of £1,000 of interest, and a higher rate taxpayer £500. If your interest is under those figures, a cash ISA is not saving you any tax this year.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Proposed, not law yet: the most you could pay in would fall to £12,000 a year if you are 64 or under on 5 April. Money already in the account would not be affected.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Individual Savings Accounts, checked 5 August 2026.

General investment account

In one line: An ordinary investment account with no tax wrapper around it.
Who can open one: Usually aged 18 or over. There is no limit on how many you hold.
The most you can put in this tax year: No limit. This is the account that has no allowance to run out.
When the rules let you take the money out: Any time, once investments are sold and the sale settles.
What it costs to take money out early: Nothing from HMRC. What you get back depends on prices on the day.
What the tax rules do: Gains above the £3,000 annual exempt amount can attract Capital Gains Tax, and dividends above the £500 dividend allowance can attract Income Tax. You work these out and report them yourself.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Nothing in the ISA proposals changes a general investment account.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Capital Gains Tax, checked 5 August 2026.

Innovative finance ISA

In one line: An ISA that holds peer to peer loans and similar lending rather than shares or funds.
Who can open one: Aged 18 or over and resident in the UK.
The most you can put in this tax year: Part of the same £20,000 shared across all your adult ISAs.
When the rules let you take the money out: It depends on the loans. Money can be locked up until loans are repaid or until someone is found to take them over.
What it costs to take money out early: There may be no way out early at all. Peer to peer loans are not covered by the £120,000 FSCS deposit protection that applies to savings.
What the tax rules do: No UK tax on the interest earned inside it. The money you lend is at risk in a way that money in a cash ISA is not.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Proposed, not law yet: interest on uninvested cash inside it would be taxed at the savings basic rate, and you could no longer move money from it into a cash ISA if you are 64 or under on 5 April.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Individual Savings Accounts, checked 5 August 2026.

Junior ISA

In one line: An ISA opened for a child under 18. The money legally belongs to the child.
Who can open one: Opened by a parent or guardian for a child under 18 who lives in the UK.
The most you can put in this tax year: £9,000 a tax year, entirely separate from and on top of the adult £20,000.
When the rules let you take the money out: The child can take charge of the account at 16 and can take the money out at 18. Nobody can withdraw before then except in narrow circumstances such as terminal illness.
What it costs to take money out early: There is no early access to charge for. That is both the point of it and the catch: at 18 the money is the child's to do as they like with.
What the tax rules do: No UK tax on growth, dividends or interest.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Nothing in the ISA proposals changes the Junior ISA allowance.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Junior Individual Savings Accounts, checked 5 August 2026.

Lifetime ISA

In one line: An ISA for a first home or for age 60, where the government adds 25% to what you pay in.
Who can open one: Aged 18 to 39 to open one. You can keep paying in until you turn 50.
The most you can put in this tax year: £4,000 a tax year, and it sits inside the £20,000 rather than on top of it.
When the rules let you take the money out: Without a charge: purchasing a first home costing up to £450,000, reaching 60, or terminal illness. Any other reason means the charge below.
What it costs to take money out early: Not what most pages say. Pay in £800 and the government adds £200, so you have £1,000. Take that £1,000 out for any other reason and the charge is 25% of what you take out, which is £250. You get £750 back, which is £50 less than the £800 you paid in. Scaled up: pay in £4,000, get £1,000, and taking out the £5,000 costs £1,250, leaving £3,750 against the £4,000 you put in. The shortfall is always 6.25% of your own money. Clawing back just the bonus would be a charge of 20%, not 25%, which is why saying you lose the bonus is the wrong description.
What the tax rules do: No UK tax on growth or interest, and the government adds 25% of what you pay in.
What would change on 6 April 2027: The proposals do not mention the Lifetime ISA at all, so whether the cash rules would reach a cash Lifetime ISA is genuinely not set out yet. Separately, the government has consulted on replacing it, with no design and no date published.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Lifetime ISA, checked 5 August 2026.

Personal pension (SIPP)

In one line: A pension you arrange yourself, where tax relief is added to what you pay in.
Who can open one: Any UK resident. One can also be opened on behalf of a child.
The most you can put in this tax year: Tax relief applies on up to £60,000 a year or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower, counting everything paid into all your pensions together.
When the rules let you take the money out: Normally not before 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028.
What it costs to take money out early: There is generally no way to take it earlier at all. Offers to unlock a pension early are a well documented fraud pattern.
What the tax rules do: Tax relief is added going in. At retirement 25% can normally be taken free of tax, capped at £268,275, and the rest is taxed as income when you take it.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Nothing in the ISA proposals changes a personal pension.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Tax on your private pension contributions, checked 5 August 2026.

Stocks and shares ISA

In one line: An investment account inside a tax free wrapper. Values rise and fall.
Who can open one: Aged 18 or over and resident in the UK.
The most you can put in this tax year: Part of the same £20,000 shared across all your adult ISAs.
When the rules let you take the money out: Any time, once investments are sold and the sale settles, usually a few days.
What it costs to take money out early: Nothing from HMRC. What you get back depends on prices on the day.
What the tax rules do: No UK tax on growth, dividends or interest inside it. Two costs remain: 15% US withholding tax on dividends from US shares, and 0.5% stamp duty on most UK share purchases.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Proposed, not law yet: interest on uninvested cash inside it would be taxed at the savings basic rate; you could no longer move money from it into a cash ISA if you are 64 or under on 5 April; and its investments could not be held entirely in money market funds.
Where this comes from: gov.uk: Individual Savings Accounts, checked 5 August 2026.

Workplace pension

In one line: A pension arranged through an employer, who has to pay into it as well.
Who can open one: Anyone an employer has to enrol. It only exists through an employer.
The most you can put in this tax year: The £60,000 annual allowance covers everything paid into all your pensions together, including what your employer pays.
When the rules let you take the money out: Normally not before 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028.
What it costs to take money out early: The same as any pension: generally no early access.
What the tax rules do: The same tax treatment as a personal pension. On top of that, an employer enrolling you has to pay in at least 3% of your qualifying earnings, with 8% going in in total, on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270.
What would change on 6 April 2027: Nothing in the ISA proposals changes a workplace pension.
Where this comes from: The Pensions Regulator: employer duties, checked 5 August 2026.