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Best last-minute ISAs for 2013/14
If you are still thinking about using some or all of your ISA allowance for this tax year, you’ve only got until Saturday (5th April).
Your first choice is whether to opt for cash or stocks and shares, or a mixture of both. You have a total of £11,520 you can save tax free, but you can only put a maximum of £5,760 of that in cash.
Cash ISAs
If you’re looking at cash, rates have steadily decreased as the deadline has got nearer, particularly on instant-access and shorter-term fixed rate ISAs. This highlights the importance of not leaving your ISA to the last minute, particularly at a time when interest rates are low.
Here are the top Cash ISAs for your 2013/14 allowance right now. Be aware that some ISAs will be closed to new applications before the end of Saturday, so act now if you want to avoid disappointment.
Instant-access ISAs
Let's start with the top instant-access ISAs.
The top instant-access ISA for this year we were able to find now is Nationwide's Flexclusive paying 1.75%, but this is limited to people who have a Nationwide current account (such as the FlexDirect or Flex account).
If you want to open yours online, you're looking at Nationwide's Easy Saver or Santander's Direct ISA, both paying 1.60%.
Account | Interest Rate (AER) | Minimum deposit | How ISA can be opened |
Nationwide BS Flexclusive ISA | 1.75% | £1 | Online, branch |
Metro Bank Instant Access Cash ISA | 1.65% | £1 | Branch |
Nationwide Easy Saver ISA | 1.60% | £1 | Online, branch |
Cheshire BS Easy Saver ISA | 1.60% | £1 | Branch |
Dunfermline BS Easy Saver ISA | 1.60% | £1 | Branch |
Derbyshire BS Easy Saver ISA | 1.60% | £1 | Branch |
Santander Direct ISA | 1.60% (includes 1.10% bonus for first year) | £500 | Online, branch, phone |
Notice ISAs
Right now, several short-notice ISAs are paying higher rates than their instant-access counterparts.
Account | Interest Rate (AER) | Minimum deposit | Notes | How ISA can be opened |
Principality BS Principality Promise ISA | 1.80% | £500 | 30 days’ notice required for withdrawals. | Branch |
Earl Shilton BS 90-Day Notice ISA | 1.80% | £10 | 90 days’ notice required for withdrawals. | Branch, post |
Islamic Bank of Britain Sharia-compliant Notice Cash ISA* | 1.80% | £250 | 120 days’ notice required for withdrawals. | Online, branch, post, phone |
Hinckley and Rugby BS 120-Day Notice Cash ISA | 1.75% | £500 | 120 days’ notice required for withdrawals. | Branch, post |
*Anticipated profit rate
Fixed rate ISAs
Moving onto fixed rate ISAs, and interest rates here have actually marginally increased as the year has gone on, on longer-terms ISAs anyway.
With the Bank of England indicating that interest rates aren't likely to rise rapidly in the short term, it might be worth opting for a short-term fixed rate in order to get a better return.
If you have a Santander 123 current account, 123 credit card or you're a Select customer, you can take advantage of their 123 Fixed Rate ISA, which is paying 0.25% more than any of its open-to-all competitors over two year.
Account | Interest rate (AER) | Minimum deposit | Length of fixed rate | How ISA can be opened |
Skipton BS Online Five-Year Fixed Rate ISA | 3.00% | £500 | Five years (fixed until 15th April 2019) | Online |
Coventry BS Fixed-Rate ISA | 2.75% | £5,760 | Three and a half years (fixed until 30th November 2017) | Branch, post, phone |
Santander 123 Fixed Rate ISA* | 2.30% | £500 | Two years | Branch, phone |
Britannia Fixed Rate Cash ISA** | 2.10% | £1 | Two years (fixed until 5th April 2016) | Branch |
Halifax ISA Saver Fixed | 2.00% | £500 | 18 months | Online, branch, phone |
Britannia Fixed Rate Cash ISA** | 1.90% | £5,760 | One year (fixed until 5th April 2015) | Branch |
Metro Bank Fixed Rate Cash ISA | 1.75% | £1 | One year | Branch |
Britannia Fixed Rate Cash ISA | 1.71% | £1 | One year | Branch |
Tesco Bank Fixed Rate Cash ISA | 1.65% | £1 | One year | Online, phone |
Halifax ISA Saver Fixed | 1.65% | £500 | One year | Online, branch, phone |
Kent Reliance BS Flexible Fixed Rate Cash ISA | 1.65% | £1,000 | One year | Online, branch, post |
*Only available to 123 current account customers, 123 credit card customers and Select customers
**Must have a Co-operative Bank or smile current account and have funded it with at least £800 for past three months and fund it with £800 each month from opening
The danger with locking your money away for five years in a fixed rate ISA is that rates may rise in just a couple of years' time.
[Earn up to 5% interest via a current account – compare them now]
Stocks & shares ISAs
If you're considering opting for a stocks & shares ISA, many investment platforms including Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity and AXA Self Investor allow you to 'park' cash before the deadline and decide later which investments you want to include. This could be useful if you think you want to invest but want some more time to research your options.
Make sure you shop around for your ISA, particularly if you want to use an investment platform or discount stockbroker. You should look closely at all the charges that might apply to make sure your returns aren’t being eaten away.
You also need to doublecheck the deadline of the company you want to invest through, as it may be earlier than Saturday.