Balance after 20 years
£173,596
5% annual real return
Choose your annual contribution, time horizon, ISA type, and expected return. The calculator applies HMRC's £20,000 adult allowance, the Lifetime ISA 25% government bonus where applicable, and compounds annually at your chosen rate. Results are computed server-side so they index and render before JavaScript.
Balance after 20 years
£173,596
5% annual real return
Total contributed
£100,000
£5,000 a year for 20 years
Government bonus
£0
No bonus on this ISA type
ISA advantage
£11,542
Versus a taxable General Investment Account at the same return
| Year | Contributed | Bonus | Growth | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £5,000 | - | £250 | £5,250 |
| 2 | £10,000 | - | £763 | £10,763 |
| 3 | £15,000 | - | £1,551 | £16,551 |
| 4 | £20,000 | - | £2,628 | £22,628 |
| 5 | £25,000 | - | £4,010 | £29,010 |
| 6 | £30,000 | - | £5,710 | £35,710 |
| 7 | £35,000 | - | £7,746 | £42,746 |
| 8 | £40,000 | - | £10,133 | £50,133 |
| 9 | £45,000 | - | £12,889 | £57,889 |
| 10 | £50,000 | - | £16,034 | £66,034 |
| 11 | £55,000 | - | £19,586 | £74,586 |
| 12 | £60,000 | - | £23,565 | £83,565 |
| 13 | £65,000 | - | £27,993 | £92,993 |
| 14 | £70,000 | - | £32,893 | £102,893 |
| 15 | £75,000 | - | £38,287 | £113,287 |
| 16 | £80,000 | - | £44,202 | £124,202 |
| 17 | £85,000 | - | £50,662 | £135,662 |
| 18 | £90,000 | - | £57,695 | £147,695 |
| 19 | £95,000 | - | £65,330 | £160,330 |
| 20 | £100,000 | - | £73,596 | £173,596 |
Each year, your contribution is added to the previous balance, the government bonus is added if you selected the Lifetime ISA (25% on contributions up to £4,000, capped at £1,000 per year), and the combined total grows at your chosen real return rate. Real return means inflation-adjusted, the FTSE All-Share Total Return Index has averaged roughly % real over the most recent 30-year window per FTSE Russell, while the MSCI World Net Return in GBP has averaged % real over the same horizon.
The "ISA advantage" figure compares the projected ISA balance against the same contributions in a taxable General Investment Account, where dividend income above £500 and capital gains above £3,000 attract HMRC tax, typically a 1-1.5% annual return drag for a UK higher-rate taxpayer holding equity funds. Over 20+ year horizons the wrapper effect is material: a £10,000 annual contribution at 5% real for 30 years compounds to about £698,000 in an ISA versus around £580,000 outside.
The calculator does not model in-year subscription timing (whether you contribute lump-sum on 6 April or drip £833 per month), provider fees (~0.25% on platform-fee S&S ISAs), or sequence-of-returns risk (the variance of equity returns around the mean). For longer horizons the platform-fee headwind and the sequencing variance largely wash out, but for projections under 5 years the variance dwarfs the mean, see the methodology page for the full assumption set.