Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISA)

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1. Overview

Junior Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are long-term, tax-free savings accounts for children.

In the 2025 to 2026 tax year, the savings limit for Junior ISAs is 拢9,000

Who can get a Junior ISA

Your child must be both:

  • under 18
  • living in the UK

If your child lives outside the UK

Your child can only get a Junior ISA if both the following apply:

  • you鈥檙e a Crown servant (in the UK鈥檚 armed forces, diplomatic service or overseas civil service, for example)
  • they depend on you for care

You cannot have a Junior ISA as well as a Child Trust Fund. If you want to open a Junior ISA ask the provider to transfer the trust fund into it.

How Junior ISAs work

There are 2 types of Junior ISA:

  • a cash Junior ISA, for example you will not pay tax on interest on the cash you save
  • a stocks and shares Junior ISA, for example your cash is invested and you will not pay tax on any capital growth or dividends you receive

Your child can have one or both types of Junior ISA.

Parents or guardians with parental responsibility can open a Junior ISA and manage the account, but the money belongs to the child.

The child can take control of the account when they鈥檙e 16, but cannot withdraw the money until they turn 18.

2. Open an account

Only parents or a guardian with parental responsibility can open a Junior ISA for under 16s.

To open a Junior ISA you need to:

  • choose the type of Junior ISA you want for your child - cash or stocks and shares (or both)
  • choose your account provider
  • get an application form from them

Your child can only have:

  • 1 cash Junior ISA
  • 1 stocks and shares Junior ISA

Children aged 16 and 17 can open their own Junior ISA.

Account providers

You can get a Junior ISA from a range of banks, building societies, credit unions, friendly societies and stock brokers.

Contact any of these directly for more information about how you can open a Junior ISA with them.

3. Add money to an account

Anyone can pay money into a Junior ISA, but the total amount paid in cannot go over 拢9,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

Example

If your child has 拢2,000 paid into their cash Junior ISA from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, only 拢7,000 could be paid into their stocks and shares Junior ISA in the same tax year.

You can transfer money between:

You cannot transfer money between a Junior ISA and an adult ISA.

If your child moves abroad, you can still add cash to their Junior ISA.

Who the money belongs to

Money in a Junior ISA belongs to your child and cannot be taken out until they鈥檙e 18, though there are exceptions to this.

4. Manage an account

Your child鈥檚 Junior聽ISA聽will be in their name, but the person with parental responsibility who opens it is responsible for managing the account. The person who opens it is known as the 鈥榬egistered contact鈥�.

The registered contact is the only person who can:

  • change the account, for example from a cash to a stocks and shares Junior ISA
  • change the account provider
  • report changes of circumstances, for example change of address

Contact your account provider to do this.

You cannot take money out of a Junior ISA until your child turns 18.

Children older than 16

If your child is 16 or older they can become the registered contact for their Junior ISAs.

When your child turns 18 they can take out any money in their Junior ISAs.

Junior ISAs automatically turn into an adult ISA when the child turns 18.

If your child lacks the mental capacity to manage their account when they turn 18

You, or a close friend or relative, need to apply to the Court of Protection (COP) for a financial deputyship order. This will allow you to manage your child鈥檚 adult ISA account or take out money on their behalf once they turn 18.

In Scotland, applications need to be made to the .

In Northern Ireland, applications need to be made to the .

5. If your child is terminally ill or dies

The registered contact can take money out of a Junior ISA early if a child is terminally ill.

鈥楾erminally ill鈥� means that the child has a disease or illness that is going to get worse and is not expected to live more than 6 months.

If you live in England or Wales, you have 6 months from the date of your child鈥檚 diagnosis to take money out of their account.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you have 12 months from the date of your child鈥檚 diagnosis to take money out of their account.

If you live in Scotland, there鈥檚 no time limit for taking money out of their account.

How to take money out

Fill in the terminal illness early access form to let HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) know that:

  • your child is terminally ill
  • you want to take money out of their Junior ISA

HMRC will let you know if you can take money out of your child鈥檚 Junior ISA.

If your child dies

If your child dies, any money in their Junior ISAs will be paid to whoever inherits their estate.

This is usually one of the child鈥檚 parents, but it could be their spouse or partner if they were over 16 and married or in a civil partnership.

What you need to do

You do not need to contact HMRC but you鈥檒l need to tell your account provider so they can close your child鈥檚 Junior ISAs.

Your account provider may need proof to do this, for example a copy of the death certificate.