Help to Buy: ISA

Saving for your first home can take some time. So how about a bonus of up to £3,000 from the Government?

At a glance

Summary of basic information about this ISA
Who this ISA is for	The benefits	How it works	Claiming your bonus
Who this ISA is for You can open this account if: You're a first time buyer, saving to buy a house up to the value of £250,000 outside London or £450,000 inside London. You're 16 or over, a UK resident for tax purposes and have a national insurance number. You haven't already saved in a cash ISA this tax year, unless you're going to complete an ISA transfer. This includes Help to Buy: ISAs and cash ISAs with other banks.	The benefits 1.50% tax free/AER variable interest. Receive a 25% bonus from the Government towards your first home, up to £3,000. If you're buying a home with someone else, you can both open Help to Buy: ISAs and both get bonuses.	How it works Open and manage the account online, by phone or in branch. In the first 21 days you can deposit up to £1,000. You can also save up to £200 per month by standing order, to be received by the 25th of the month. This can include the month you open the ISA. You can withdraw your money when you like but you can't claim any bonus on what you withdraw.	Claiming your bonus Your bonus will be 25% of your closing balance, if it is £1,600 or more. You need to close your account in branch or by post. You cannot use your bonus for your deposit or any costs incurred before completion.

Summary Box - Help to Buy ISA

1. What is the interest rate?

It’s a variable rate as shown in the table below

table of the variable rates of interest
Your balance	Gross	AER
Your balance £1+	Gross 1.50 %	AER 1.50 %

The interest rate is variable. It will be paid to you after each year, on the date that you opened the account.

2. Can Bank of Scotland change the interest rate?

Yes.

As this account pays a variable rate of interest it can change over time. We’ll always let you know of any planned changes to the rate. Our conditions (PDF) explain when and how we do this. For example we might review the interest rate if the Bank of England base rate changes.

3. What might the future balance be?

Below is an example of what the future balance might be, after interest has been paid:

Example of what the future balance might be after interest has been paid
Initial Deposit	Regular deposit	Tax free rate	Balance at 12 months
Initial Deposit £1000.00	Regular deposit £200.00	Tax free rate 1.50%	Balance at 12 months £3433.00

This example assumes that:

You don’t withdraw any money and interest isn’t paid out of the account
The interest rate stays the same
You make regular deposits in the middle of each month

Also, if your balance is £1,600 or more when you close the account, you'll get a 25% bonus on your final balance. This is paid by the UK Government if you buy a house up to the value of £250,000 outside London or £450,000 inside London. The minimum bonus of £400 is payable on closing balances of £1,600. The maximum bonus of £3,000 is paid on closing balances of £12,000 or more.

4. How do I open and manage my account?

This account can be opened and managed in branch, by phone or online.

Online
By phone
In branch

You can open this account if:

You're saving to buy your first home.
You're 16 or over, a UK resident for tax purposes and have a national insurance number.
You haven't already saved in a cash ISA this tax year, unless you're going to complete an ISA transfer. The Help to Buy: ISA is a cash ISA and you can only add new contributions into one cash ISA in a tax year. Read our guide to ISAs for more information.

You can only open this account in your sole name.

There are limits on how much you can save in a Help to Buy: ISA:

You can open this account with between £1 and £1,000. This must be received within 21 days of account opening and can be transferred from an existing ISA. Find out how to transfer an ISA.
The Help to Buy: ISA is a cash ISA and you can only save into one cash ISA in a tax year. This includes cash ISAs with other banks. Read our guide to ISAs for more information.
ISAs have an annual limit of £20,000 this tax year. This means you can’t pay more than this limit into any combination of permitted ISAs within the same tax year.
The Help to Buy: ISA allowance is lower than the overall £20,000 ISA allowance as you can only pay in up to £200 in any calendar month. This must be paid by standing order and received by the 25th of the month (this can include the month you open your ISA). In the first 21 days you can deposit an extra £1,000. If you want to reach the full ISA limit in a tax year, you’ll have to invest any other new contributions into other permitted types of ISA.

5. Can I withdraw money?

Yes.

You can make unlimited withdrawals, but you won’t be able to claim the Government’s bonus on the funds you withdraw.

You can close your account at any time by visiting your local branch. If you choose to close the account and move the money to a non-ISA account, your savings will lose their tax-free status. The tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.

6. Additional information

How to start the claim for your bonus

To start the claim for your bonus, you need to :

Close your account in one transaction in branch when you're ready to purchase your first UK property. The property should be up to the value of £250,000 outside London and £450,000 inside London. Remember you can't use the bonus to cover any costs you incur before completion or to use as the deposit due at exchange of contracts.
Pass your Help to Buy: ISA closing documents onto your conveyancer. They will claim the bonus for you. They must be approved as an eligible conveyancer under the Help to Buy: ISA scheme.

Savings terms explained

Tax free means you will not pay income tax on your interest.

AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate. Whenever you see an advert for a savings account which shows an interest rate, you will see the AER. This means you can use the AER to compare accounts. It shows what the interest rate would be if your interest was paid and compounded once each year.

For more definitions, view our savings glossary.

Help to Buy: ISA administrator

The Help to Buy: ISA scheme administrator is National Savings and Investments (NS&I). NS&I works with HM Treasury. The administrator was UKAR (UK Asset Resolution Limited) until 31st March 2019.

About our rates

Our interest rates can change. They were last updated 0.00am on 04/09/2018.

For a definition of AER, gross and other terms, view our savings glossary.