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How can I make the most of the tax year?
By investing early in the tax year you could make sure that you are using your ISA allowance to its full advantage.
Have you maximised your ISA allowance?
Each tax year you have a brand new ISA allowance that you can use to protect your savings from the tax man.
Each tax year starts on 6th April and runs to 5th April the following year.
For the 2010/11 tax year the ISA allowance has been increased to £10,200 for all eligible ISA customers. That means that if you are a UK resident and over 18 (16 for a cash ISA) you are intitled to invest up to £10,200 this tax year with up to £5,100 in a cash ISA.
Please see the table below for examples of how your allowance could be used.
ISA limits for all eligible ISA customers
| Cash ISA | Stocks and Shares ISA | Total ISA Allowance |
| £1,200 | £9,000 | £10,200 |
| £3,000 | £7,200 | £10,200 |
| £5,100 (max) | £5,100 | £10,200 |
| £0 | £10,200 (max) | £10,200 |
Planning ahead
Planning ahead and making the most of your allowance early means you benefit from greater potential returns come tax year end. The earlier you invest the longer your money is out of the reach of the taxman and working harder for you. Once the tax year ends so does that year's tax allowance, so it's important to use each year's maximum allowance. Please remember however, as with any stock market-based investment the value of your ISA can go down as well as up and you may get back less than invested.
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