ISAs started in April 1999 and replace PEPs and TESSAs. In the first year you can invest £7,000 and thereafter £5,000 per year into a wide variety of investments. They are very attractive to Fools.

ISA is the new tax-saving plan available from April 6, 1999. It will replace Peps and Tessas, enabling investors to protect shares, unit and investment trusts, cash deposits and some life insurance policies from tax.

ISAs started in April 1999 and replaced PEPs and TESSAs. ISAs are schemes to protect your investments (shares, bonds, cash or insurance funds) from tax. Think of them as a tax-free wrapper.

A tax free investment vehicle, allowing investment into cash, life assurance and stock market investments. It will replace PEP's and TESSAs in April 1999 for new contributions although contributions to Existing TESSAs (not PEPs) can continue for the remainder of the five year period.

This is a savings account which was introduced 6 April 1999. The income earned by the money invested will be free of tax. In each tax year you can invest in:  up to three different types of mini ISAs; or    one maxi ISA.

Tax-free savings plans that allow the individual to invest in cash, stocks or shares or insurance.

A kind of saving or investment account, which does not include income and capital gains tax and can be used to invest in shares or stocks

Savings accounts that let you save in cash, equities (bonds, gilts, shares and unit trusts), life insurance policies or any combination of the three separately (Mini-ISA) or together (Maxi-ISA). There are tax breaks associated with ISAs, you don't pay tax on the income you get from them or on any gain you make when you sell them.   back

A tax free investment in which people can place cash, shares, or life insurance up to certain limits set by the government.

This is a tax efficient means of saving that replaced PEPs* and TESSAs* in April 1999 for an initial 10 year period. See tax wrapper* for more information.

An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is essentially a wrapper in which you can place your savings and investments to protect them from capital gains tax and, if you are a higher rate tax-payer, you will also enjoy a tax benefit of 22.5% on dividend income. ISAs do not have to be declared on tax returns. The maximum investment into an ISA is £7,000.

The Government's tax-free saving scheme. You can make financial provisions for the future by putting money into any of three types of investment - cash savings, stocks and shares and life assurance.

This is a tax-free savings account available since April 1999. There are limits on the amounts it is possible to invest in such an account. It is often used with an interest only mortgage to provide a lump sum at the end of the mortgage term.

A form of Saving and investing with tax advantages.[ISA

A tax-free savings plan, introduced by the Government in April 1999. ISAs replaced new investment in PEPs and TESSAs.

A tax-free investment scheme that has replaced Peps (Personal equity plans).

A type of savings or investment account which is exempt from income and capital gains tax. You can use it to save cash or to invest in stocks and shares.

An investment scheme launched in 1999 by the Government to replace PEPs. Click here for more information.

An account which can be used to hold many types of savings and investment products including cash, life insurance and stocks and shares. ISAs are available to most UK residents and there are strict rules regarding the maximum amount allowed for each component and the overall amount that can be invested in any one tax year. The returns earned in an ISA (capital growth and income) are tax-free.

A tax efficient savings plan that may be used as a repayment vehicle for Interest Only Mortgages.

Tax-efficient investments that provide a way of repaying an interest-only mortgage. The type of ISA most suitable for mortgage repayment purposes is a maxi stocks and shares based one.

A tax efficient savings vehicle for stocks and  shares (including  corporate bonds,  gilts and property) and cash launched on 6 April 1999. There is no minimum holding period and eligible adults may invest up to £7,000 in each tax year. See also  Mini ISA and  Maxi ISA.  For further information about ISAs, see our ISA product profile.

A means of saving which gives exemption from tax on benefits. Savings can be through cash, stocks and shares or insurance but must be arranged through one or more 'ISA manager(s)'. There are limits to the amounts which can be contributed.

The new tax-exempt savings scheme launched in April 1999 as a replacement for the personal equity plan (PEP) and tax-efficient special savings scheme (TESSA). ISAs can be used to invest in a very wide range of investments and consist of three components: cash (bank and building society accounts and National Savings), insurances (investment-type insurance plans) and stocks and shares ( Unit Trusts, OEICS, investment trusts, direct investment in shares, corporate bonds and gilts). From 2000-01 the annual investment limit is £5,000.

New tax-exempt savings account launched in April 1999 as a replacement for the personal equity plan (Pep) and tax-efficient special savings scheme (Tessa). The main difference with the Isa is that there is a wider choice of eligible investments, including foreign shares, cash and investment-based insurance products. Although the annual investment limit is to be £5,000, the Government has allowed £7,000 to be invested in the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 tax years. Any income and capital gains made within an Isa are tax free.

Introduced by the government in April 1999 to replace PEPs and TESSAs, an ISA is a tax-efficient way of holding shares or saving money. (The favourable tax treatment of ISAs may change in the future.)

A tax free investment vehicle available from 6 April 1999 which allows you to invest in stocks and shares and life assurance policies, or to hold cash. It replaces personal equity plans (PEPs) and TESSAs. The income and gains will be tax free. There is no minimum holding period in an ISA to qualify for tax relief, but amounts of capital withdrawn cannot be replaced except by using a further years ISA allowance.

The tax-efficient plan launched in April 1999 to replace PEPs. Permits investment in stocks and shares, cash deposits and insurance.

A tax-exempt savings account launched in April 1999. ISAs have a wide choice of eligible investments, including foreign shares, cash and investment-based insurance products.

ISA) A savings vehicle that allows clients to invest in equities, life assurance policies or save in cash without having to pay tax on the returns gained from them.

replacing TESSAs and PEPs, ISAs are a form of tax-free savings. Currently you can invest GBP7,000 in year one and GBP5,000 thereafter in an ISA.

An Individual Savings Account (ISA) is a financial product available in the UK, designed for the purpose of investment and savings with a favourable tax status. ISAs were introduced on 6 April 1999, replacing the earlier Personal Equity Plans (PEPs) and Tax-Exempt Special Savings Accounts (TESSAs), which continued to exist only for money already invested in them and for interplan transfers. ISAs were explicitly designed to appeal to a broader range of the population than these earlier products, which were sometimes claimed to be exclusively for the benefit of the middle class.