Junior ISA allowance 2026/27: rules and limits

The Junior ISA allowance for the 2026-27 tax year is £9,000. This means that up to £9,000 can be paid into a child’s Junior ISA during the tax year. A Junior ISA (Junior Individual Savings Account) is a tax-free savings or investment account for children under 18 in the UK. Parents or guardians can open this account, and family members or friends can contribute money to it.

The money grows free from UK income tax and capital gains tax, and the child can access it when they turn 18. You should remember that any unused allowance can’t be carried forward to the next tax year.

How the Junior ISA allowance has changed over time

The Junior ISA, or JISA for short, was first launched in November 2011. It was brought in to replace Child Trust Funds (CTFs). The Child Trust Fund was a tax-free savings vehicle for kids born during the period between the 1^st of September 2002 and the 2^nd of January 2011.

Low-income families that opened CTFs were given £250 by the government when the child was born and another £250 when the child turned 7.

The government decided to scrap CTFs in favour of the Child’s Junior ISA, and the CTF was taken off the market. However, according to Times Money Mentor, 6.3 million CTFs still remain in place.

While new accounts can no longer be opened, parents or guardians, or anyone for that matter, can still contribute up to £9,000 per annum to previously opened CTFs. Alternatively, they can be transferred into a Junior ISA without affecting the current Junior ISA allowance for 2026-27.

The main reason that CTFs were scrapped was as part of the austerity measures introduced by the UK government to save £320 million in 2010-11 and £520 million in 2011-12 in the wake of the 2007/08 global financial crisis. Prior to the current JISA limit of £9,000, the table below shows how the Junior ISA annual allowance has progressed.

As you can see, the annual allowance for the current 2026-2027 tax year is £9,000 and has been for the past six tax years. For the avoidance of doubt, the tax year commences on the 6^th of April and ends on the 5^th of April of the following year.

Understanding Junior ISA contribution limits for 2025-26

There are two variants of Junior ISA – the Cash Junior ISA and Junior Stocks and Shares ISA. So how does the Junior ISA allowance 2025/26 work?

The current Junior ISA Allowance 2026/27 is the maximum that can be contributed across both types of Junior ISA savings accounts. So, if you contributed £9,000 into a Cash JISA, you couldn’t contribute anything to a Stocks and Shares JISA in the same tax year, but you could split the £9,000 JISA limit between the two, in whatever proportion you decide.

If, as part of your parental responsibility, you decide to open both types of JISA, you cannot do so in the same tax year. You can open one type of JISA this tax year (2026-27) but must then wait until the tax year runs out on the 5^th of April before you’re allowed to open the other type of JISA the next tax year (2027-28), commencing 6^th April 2027.

Remember that Junior ISAs are only one type of ISA available in the UK. There are other ISA products designed for adults, such as Cash ISAs and Stocks and Shares ISAs, which have different annual contribution limits. For example, the standard adult ISA allowance is currently £20,000 per tax year. This means that eligible adults can save or invest up to £20,000 across their ISA accounts while continuing to benefit from tax-efficient growth and income.

A key advantage of ISA products is that they provide a tax-efficient way to save and invest, helping individuals and families make the most of their money over the short and long term.

The two types of Junior ISA

Having just mentioned the two types of JISA, a little clarification of the differences between the two might help if you’re thinking of investing in a JISA but are not sure which option to go for.

When you open a Junior ISA, the Junior ISA allowance for 2026-27 is the same for both types, and the money saved or invested belongs only to the child. The other thing that remains the same is that nothing can be withdrawn until the child reaches 18.

The big differences between the two types of accounts lie in the level of risk and the likely return:

• Cash Junior ISA: is more similar to a bank savings account. The money is safe from a risk point of view and is protected from HMRC in terms of capital gains and income tax. But like a bank savings account, the interest offered is low, which means that inflation erodes the savings in real terms.
• Stocks and Shares Junior ISA: as the name suggests, invests in stocks and shares, not cash. It means there is a greater potential for significantly bigger returns, but a risk element must be considered.

While the rules for the Junior ISA options available are different – for example, whereas the current Junior ISA maximum contribution is £9,000, the adult ISA allowance is £20,000 – the mechanics of how they work, however, are the same. To help with decision-making, an article entitled “How to choose the best ISA” makes for informative reading.

What happens if you contribute more than the Junior ISA allowance

Junior ISAs work as tax wrappers. Capital growth and withdrawals are safe from the taxman as long as annual contributions stay within the JISA limit, which, as you know, for the 2026-27 tax year is £9,000. Any contributions above £9,000 will be taxable.

If contributions exceed the £9,000 annual allowance, the excess amount will not receive the same tax advantages as a Junior ISA contribution. The money paid above the limit may need to be removed from the account or dealt with according to HMRC rules.

The Junior ISA provider is responsible for monitoring contributions and reporting any excess payments to HMRC. If too much money is paid into a Junior ISA, the provider may contact the parent or guardian to arrange the correction.

You should remember that the Junior ISA allowance applies across all Junior ISA accounts held by the same child. For example, if a child has both a Cash Junior ISA and a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA, the combined contributions to both accounts cannot exceed £9,000 in the same tax year.

Any unused Junior ISA allowance cannot be carried forward to future tax years. Therefore, it is important to check contributions carefully throughout the year to make sure they remain within the annual limit and continue to benefit from the tax advantages of a Junior ISA.

How much can you save into a Junior ISA each month?

The Junior ISA allowance for 2026/27 is £9,000 for the whole tax year. This means that, if you want to spread contributions, you could pay around £750 per month into a Junior ISA.

Remember that you can pay money into a Junior ISA whenever you choose, as long as the total contributions do not exceed the annual limit.

Top tips for maximising your child’s Junior ISA allowance

The Junior ISA allowance for the 2026-27 tax year or any tax year cannot be rolled over in part or full, so if you don’t use it, you lose it.

You can make sure to optimise the maximum Junior ISA allowance by making a note that the last day to invest in any ISA in any tax year is the 5^th of April. You don’t want to leave it to the last minute, just in case the processing time takes longer than anticipated, and you unintentionally miss out. Making a timely, monthly, or yearly standing order ensures the deadline doesn’t pass you by.

If your child has both types of JISA and you want to amalgamate them to maximise performance, an ISA transfer is easy to arrange.

Example: how much could a Junior ISA grow over 18 years?

A Junior ISA can become a valuable way of saving for a child’s future, especially when contributions are made regularly over a long period. For example, if a parent contributes £200 per month from the child’s birth until they reach the age of 18, the total amount paid into the account would be £43,200. If the money was invested and achieved an average annual return of 5% after charges, the Junior ISA could grow to around £70,000–£75,000 by the time the child turns 18.

Remember that the final value would depend on how the money is saved or invested and how the investments perform over time. A Cash Junior ISA may provide more certainty but usually offers lower growth potential, while a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA could achieve higher returns over the long term, although the value can rise and fall and returns are not guaranteed.

You should know the potential benefit of starting early and allowing compound growth to work over many years. Even relatively small monthly contributions can build into a significant amount by the time a child becomes an adult.

A great way to start investing

If you know how much to invest in an ISA and make the most of the Junior ISA allowance 2026/27 and every other year going forward, compound interest will ensure the fund grows well. If you do decide to save money for a JISA, you will be potentially giving your child the best financial start in life, plus you might also influence them into adopting the saving or investing habit.

When a child turns 18, the JISA automatically turns into an adult ISA, and the child gains complete access and can withdraw some or all of the money or continue to invest. In fact, many adult Stocks and Shares ISAs start as Junior ISAs.

Frequently Asked Questions