A few miscellaneous effects of holding ISAs

If you move abroad

If you open an Individual Savings Account (ISA) in the UK and then move abroad, you can’t put money into it after you move (unless you’re a Crown employee working overseas or their spouse or civil partner).

However, you can keep your ISA open and you’ll still get UK tax relief on money and investments held in it.

You can pay into your ISA again if you return and become a UK resident (subject to the current annual ISA allowance of £15,240).

If you die

Your ISA ends on the date of your death. There will be no Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax to pay up to that date but ISA investments will form part of your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

Your ISA provider can be instructed to sell the investments and either:

  • pay the proceeds to the administrator or beneficiary of your estate
  • transfer the investments directly to them

If your spouse or civil partner dies

If your spouse or civil partner died on or after 3 December 2014, you can inherit their ISA allowance.

As well as your normal ISA allowance, you can add a tax-free amount up to the value they held in their ISA when they died.

Contact your ISA provider or the provider of your spouse or civil partner’s ISA for details.