Guides · 2026/27

ISA guides grounded in HMRC rules

Seven plain-language explainers for the five HMRC wrappers, the £20,000 adult pot, LISA bonus mechanics, transfers, and goal fit - each tied to the same registry the tools and wrapper pages use.

Start with ISA types → Open tools hub
£20,000 adult ISA allowance (2026/27)

7 plain-language ISA guides for 2026/27 against 5 HMRC wrappers. 3 of 5 sit at the £20,000 adult cap; Lifetime ISA is capped at £4,000 inside that pot (max bonus £1,000/year). Junior ISA uses a separate £9,000 child allowance.

  • 3/5 wrappers at the adult cap
  • LISA sub-limit £4,000 · max bonus £1,000/year
  • 2026/27 HMRC rules + live isa_types registry

Answer first

3 of 5 HMRC wrappers sit at the £20,000 adult cap in 2026/27; Lifetime ISA is capped at £4,000 inside that pot (max bonus £1,000/year). Junior ISA is a separate £9,000 child allowance.

7
Editorial guides
2026/27
Tax year in registry
3/5
Wrappers at adult cap
£4,000
LISA sub-limit

According to gov.uk and HMRC ISA Manager Guidance Notes (2026/27 tax year): allowance and bonus figures here are live counts/values from isa_types + stats. Guides are editorial explainers, follow the inline gov.uk / HMRC citations for statutory wording.

Adult pot composition in 2026/27

Lifetime subscriptions cap at £4,000 inside the £20,000 adult allowance. Junior ISA (£9,000) is a separate child pot and is not in this bar.

Annual allowance by HMRC wrapper (2026/27)

Junior is separate from the adult pot. Live registry values.

annual allowance

What this shows 3 of 5 wrappers use the £20,000 adult cap. Lifetime ISA is capped at £4,000 within that pot, while Junior ISA has a separate £9,000 child allowance.

Source PlainISA isa_types registry (HMRC-sourced) As of 2026-08-15

Allowance is not bonus value

3 wrappers share the £20,000 adult cap (largest allowance tier of 5); Lifetime ISA alone leads HMRC bonus value at £1,000/year (#1 of 5) while ranking #5 on subscription room at £4,000.

£20,000
3 at adult cap
£1,000
Lifetime ISA bonus #1
#5
Lifetime ISA allowance rank
£4,000
Lifetime ISA sub-limit

Allowance and bonus_cap_gbp are live registry fields from HMRC ISA Manager Guidance. Registry voice only — not product or investment advice. Junior ISA uses a separate child allowance outside the adult £20,000 pot.

How to use these guides

Start with the five wrapper types, then the £20,000 allowance and LISA bonus maths, then transfers and flexible Cash mechanics - so any calculator or compare run uses the same rule frame.

Hub figures refresh from the live registry. Individual guide bodies are editorial; every chart on a guide page queries the same tables. See methodology for sourcing.

All guides

Methodology

Guides draw from HMRC ISA Manager Guidance, gov.uk ISA reference pages, and the Income Tax Act / Finance Act schedules that set the adult pot and LISA sub-limit. Live hub stats refresh with the registry; we do not invent allowances or bonus rates that are not in the current tax-year row.

What to do with this

Read the rule once, then check a wrapper or run a tool against the same tax year.

Educational ISA explainers from HMRC-sourced rules - not personal financial advice.

Download the HMRC ISA wrapper statistics extract cited on this page: hmrc-isa-wrapper-statistics.csv (Open Government Licence v3.0).

The figures in this guide are rendered from our ISA rules database (gov.uk and the HMRC ISA Managers Guidance Notes); the explanation around them is written prose rather than database output. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Our database was last rebuilt on 15 August 2026.

Primary statutory sources: gov.uk’s Individual Savings Accounts guidance and HMRC’s ISA Managers Guidance Notes. Historical context is checked against HMRC’s annual ISA statistics.

PlainISA publishes ISA reference data and projection tools for information only. It is not financial advice and not a personal recommendation, projections are illustrations rather than forecasts, and tax rules and allowances change, so check the current position on gov.uk or with an FCA-authorised adviser before you act. Appropriate use.