Cash mini ISA or maxi stocks and shares ISA? Compare your best ISA options

ISAs

Most forms of saving are taxed at 20%. That means one-fifth of all the money you earn on your investment goes straight to the government. On a taxed savings account paying 5% per year you get just 4% after tax. On £100 of savings, that's £4 to you with £1 paid in tax. If you pay tax at the higher rate, it could be twice as much!

Fortunately you can minimise the tax paid on your investments by investing in an ISA.

Tax efficient savings

When you make an investment in an ISA you pay no income tax or capital gains tax on the returns you receive, no matter how much your investment grows or how much you take out over the years. You don't even have to mention your ISA on your tax return.

Each year you have the option to select how you would like to invest your ISA allowance, either in cash or stocks and shares, or a combination of both. There are rules concerning how much and where you can invest.

Learn more about ISA rules

ISAs are very flexible, and can be suitable for any long-term savings need. They have no fixed investment term, though we believe that you should only consider investment in equities over a period of five years or more.

Please be aware that the value of tax savings and eligibility to invest in an ISA will depend on individual circumstances, and all tax rules may change in the future.

ISAs and Fidelity's FundsNetwork

There are many advantages to using FundsNetwork for your ISA investment:

you can have a range of fund companies in your ISA, you don't have to choose just one, and it doesn't have to include Fidelity
top up your ISA over the year, as more money becomes available
switch between funds, without losing your tax benefits
it's cheaper to buy through us than direct as we offer great online discounts
use our independent information and tools to help make your decision
buy and manage your investments online

PEPs

You can no longer open a new PEP (Personal Equity Plan). These wrappers, which shelter the returns from equity investments from tax, were replaced by ISAs. In April 2008, all PEPs automatically became ISAs.

Re-registration, transfers & switches

You could make managing your investments simpler by bringing your ISAs and most funds from different companies together in one place, under a single login.

Find out more about consolidating your investments

Please be aware that you will be out of the market while the transfer is pending and may suffer loss of income and/or growth if the market moves during this time.