JISAs are essentially ISA accounts for children. They can include cash and stocks and shares JISA. See Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares posts for more details. Any cash or assets within the JISA can only be withdrawn by the child when they turn 18. From the age of 16 the child can take responsibility for the JISA and make investment decisions.
Who can open a JISA ?
JISAs can be opened by someone with parental authority on behalf of the child, usually the parent, they will be known as the “Registered Contact”. The registered contact will sign the JISA application form and make any investment decisions on behalf of the child
Yearly allowance
£ 9,000 (from tax year 20/21) in total can be subscribed to a cash JISA, or a stocks and shares JISA during any one tax year.
There is no minimum subscription stipulated in HMRC ISA regulations, but most ISA providers will determine their own minimum, usually around £ 200.00.
The tax year runs April 6th to April 5th of the following year. Once the tax year has ended, unused ISA allowance is lost.
Application form
Before subscriptions can be made to a JISA they will need to sign a JISA application form. This application form, unlike an ISA application form is not rolling, which means a new application is not required if there is a break in subscriptions during one tax year.
Transferring a JISA account to another ISA provider
Cash and stocks and shares JISA can be transferred to a new ISA provider at any point during the tax year.
To transfer an existing JISA account, the registered contact should request the new provider to “transfer in” the old account. A JISA transfer form will need to be signed by the registered contact.
CTFs (Child Trust Funds) can be transferred to a JISA account, but the child cannot hold a CTF and JISA at the same time.
When the child turns 18 At 18 years old the child can either withdraw the cash/assets from the JISA and close the account, or they can convert the JISA to a normal adult ISA account.