Can I pay into more than one ISA in a year?

Yes. Since 6 April 2024 you can open and pay into more than one ISA of the same type in a tax year, so two cash ISAs with two different banks is allowed, and so is paying into two stocks and shares ISAs. The rule change replaced the old one-of-each-type limit that had applied since 2008¹.

The limit that still binds is the money, not the number of accounts. You can put up to £20,000 into ISAs each tax year, and that figure covers every ISA you pay into, added together³. Open five cash ISAs and the £20,000 is shared across all five.

Two exceptions matter. You can only pay into one Lifetime ISA in each tax year, even though you may hold more than one². And some banks set their own rule that you can only pay into one cash ISA with them, which is a condition of their accounts rather than an ISA rule⁴.

Yes: you can pay into several ISAs of the same type in a tax year

The rule that changed is about type, not number. Before April 2024 the ISA rules allowed a saver to subscribe to one cash ISA and one stocks and shares ISA in a tax year, each a single component account⁷. From 6 April 2024 the regulations were amended to permit an individual to subscribe to more than one ISA account of the same type in a tax year¹.

In practice that means two cash ISAs with two different providers, or a cash ISA opened in April and a second one opened in January, are both fine. There is no specific limit on how many ISAs you can hold overall, and for most types of ISA you can now have, open and pay into multiple accounts of the same type in the same tax year⁸. Providers describe the same position: you can pay into multiple ISAs in the same tax year, and these can be with different providers⁹.

The same change also removed a smaller administrative hurdle. You no longer have to make a fresh application to pay into an account you already hold, and a partial transfer of subscriptions made in the current tax year is now allowed¹. That matters if you want to move part of this year's money to a better-paying account without moving all of it.

The £20,000 allowance covers every ISA you pay into

The £20,000 figure is a total, not a per-account limit. You can split the £20,000 allowance across different types of ISAs, like cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs¹⁰. You can also pay into multiple accounts of each type, but you may only subscribe to one Lifetime ISA in any tax year¹¹.

The allowance has been £20,000 since 2016, when it rose from £15,240¹². The Treasury Committee recorded in 2025 that the annual ISA allowance will be kept at £20,000¹⁴. It is a use-it-or-lose-it figure: unused allowance does not roll into the next tax year, so the deadline at the end of the tax year is the point at which the current year's £20,000 expires.

Because the allowance is shared, the arithmetic is what catches people out. Pay £15,000 into a cash ISA in April, then £8,000 into a stocks and shares ISA in February, and £3,000 of that second payment sits outside the allowance. Providers state the position plainly: you can only pay a total of £20,000 into all your ISAs in any one tax year¹⁵.

Lifetime ISA: only one per tax year

The Lifetime ISA is the exception to the multiple-ISA rule, and it is the exception in both directions. You can hold more than one Lifetime ISA, but you may only pay into one of them in any tax year⁸. The legislation puts it as a Lifetime ISA qualifying individual may only make a qualifying addition to a single Lifetime ISA in a particular year¹⁶.

That restriction has been in place since the account was introduced. The government's own policy statement set a £4,000 limit on the annual amount that an account holder can pay into their Lifetime ISA, making the bonus worth up to a maximum of £1,000 each year¹⁷. Providers repeat the same rule: you can open more than one Lifetime ISA, but will only be able to pay into one in each tax year¹⁸.

The Lifetime ISA sits alongside the others rather than replacing them. You are able to pay into one Lifetime ISA in each tax year, as well as a cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, and an innovative finance ISA¹⁸. So a saver could pay £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA and £10,000 into a cash ISA in the same year and stay within the £20,000 total.

Help to Buy ISA: the one-cash-ISA limit still applies

The Help to Buy ISA was sold under the older rules, and its own terms carried a restriction that no longer applies to cash ISAs generally. The government's 2015 guidance stated that it will only be possible for a saver to subscribe to one cash ISA per year⁶. At the time, that was simply the ISA rule for everyone.

The account is closed to new savers, but existing holders can keep saving. Monthly payments of up to £200 can be made until 30 November 2029, after which it is no longer possible to pay in¹⁹. That end date is the one to note if you still hold one: the account does not stop being a Help to Buy ISA, but it stops accepting money.

For anyone who held a Help to Buy ISA and now also wants a second cash ISA, the position is that the general ISA rules have moved on while the Help to Buy ISA's own terms have not. The restriction that applied when it was opened was a product condition as much as an ISA rule, and it is worth checking the terms of the specific account before assuming a second cash ISA can be funded alongside it.

Banks that let you pay into only one cash ISA with them

A provider can be stricter than the ISA rules, and several are. Lloyds states on its cash ISA pages that ISA rules allow you to pay into more than one cash ISA in each tax year, but we only let you pay into one cash ISA with us⁴. The same wording appears across its cash ISA range, including its Cash ISA Saver, Instant Cash ISA, Limited Access ISA and 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA²⁰.

Bank of Scotland applies the same condition to its fixed cash ISA: ISA rules allow you to pay into more than one cash ISA in each tax year, but we only let you pay into one cash ISA with us¹⁰. This is a condition of the account, not a limit set by HMRC, so it does not stop you opening a second cash ISA with a different provider.

The practical effect is that a saver who wants to spread cash across two accounts may need two different providers rather than two accounts with the same one. It also means the answer to "can I open another cash ISA?" depends on who is being asked: the ISA rules say yes, and the provider's own terms may say not with us.

Splitting your allowance across cash, stocks and shares and other ISAs

The allowance can be divided however a saver likes between the ISA types, and the split can change from year to year. You can split the £20,000 allowance across different types of ISAs, like cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs¹⁰. As of April 2024, you can open and pay into several ISAs of each type per year, so you could open two cash ISAs, contribute to two stocks and shares ISAs, and so on, but you still cannot exceed the £20,000 allowance across these²⁴.

Each type behaves differently, which is the reason to split rather than concentrate. A cash ISA holds money at a rate set by the provider and is protected against investment loss. A stocks and shares ISA holds investments whose value can fall as well as rise, and you can invest up to £20,000 each tax year in a stocks and shares ISA, with any dividends and returns on shares and bonds free of UK tax²⁵. An innovative finance ISA holds peer-to-peer loans and carries its own risks.

A Lifetime ISA is the fourth type, with its own £4,000 limit inside the £20,000 and the one-account-per-year restriction. A Junior ISA is separate again and does not use the adult allowance.

What happens if you pay in more than the allowance

Paying in more than £20,000 across all your ISAs in a tax year means part of the money is not a valid ISA subscription. The allowance is a total across every account, so the breach is measured on the sum rather than on any single account, and it can happen without any one provider noticing, because no provider sees the whole picture.

The correction is usually straightforward if it is spotted in time. Money paid in above the allowance can be returned, and providers and HMRC can work through the position with the saver. The risk of leaving it is that the excess does not receive ISA tax treatment, and the saver has to unpick it later rather than simply moving the money.

The sensible check is a running total kept by the saver rather than by any one bank. Because the allowance is shared across every ISA, and because more than one account of the same type can now be funded, the only place the full picture exists is the saver's own records. The ISA deadline at the end of the tax year is the point at which the current year's allowance expires, so it is also the last chance to correct a mistake before the year closes.

Where to get help

Free, impartial guidance on ISAs and allowances is available from MoneyHelper, the government-backed money guidance service, and from the providers themselves, who can confirm their own account conditions. Where a provider has applied a rule incorrectly, or a transfer has gone wrong, the firm's complaints process comes first, and the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at a complaint that is not resolved.

For anyone who has paid in more than the allowance and is unsure how to correct it, HMRC is the body that administers ISA relief, and its guidance sets out how an invalid subscription is handled. The complaining about an ISA provider page covers the steps and the time limits.