How much can I pay into a Junior ISA?

The Junior ISA allowance for 2026/27 is £9,000 per child, per tax year. Contributions from everyone — parents, grandparents, friends — count towards that single limit, and it's completely separate from your own £20,000 adult ISA allowance. The allowance resets each 6 April and unused allowance can't be carried forward.

Can I withdraw money from my child's Junior ISA?

No — money in a Junior ISA is locked until the child turns 18. Not even the parent who opened it can withdraw, except in cases of terminal illness or if the child dies. This is by design: the lock-in is what guarantees the savings actually reach adulthood. Only pay in money the family is sure it won't need back.

What happens to a Junior ISA when my child turns 18?

It automatically becomes an adult ISA in their name, keeping its full tax-free status without using any of their adult allowance. From that point the money is legally theirs to manage or spend. From age 16 they can take over managing the account (though still not withdraw); at 18, full control passes to them.

Can my child have both a Junior Cash ISA and a Junior Stocks & Shares ISA?

Yes — one of each, at the same time, with contributions to both sharing the £9,000 annual allowance. What a child can't have is two Junior Cash ISAs or two Junior Stocks & Shares ISAs at once; to switch providers you transfer the existing account rather than opening a second.

My child has a Child Trust Fund — can I move it to a Junior ISA?

Yes, and it's usually worth doing. Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were given Child Trust Funds (CTFs), which generally offer worse rates and higher fees than today's Junior ISAs. A child can't hold both, so the CTF must be transferred in full — use the new Junior ISA provider's transfer process, which keeps the tax-free status intact.

Are Junior ISA rates better than adult ISA rates?

Often, yes. Because the money is locked in until 18, providers get stable, long-lived deposits and compete hard for them — Junior Cash ISA rates frequently top the equivalent adult easy access ISA rates. It's one of the few corners of the savings market where the customer's inability to leave works in their favour, though you should still compare and transfer if your provider turns uncompetitive.

Is a Junior ISA better than just saving in my own name for my child?

For most families, yes. A Junior ISA is tax-free, sidesteps the £100 parental-gift interest rule, has its own separate allowance, and legally ring-fences the money for the child. Saving in your own name keeps you in control (you can spend it if plans change), but uses your allowances and stays part of your estate. Many parents do both: a Junior ISA for the child's guaranteed pot, plus savings of their own earmarked flexibly.

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Best Junior ISA Rates

Compare Junior ISAs on DepositScout

Monitoring rates around the clock

Provider	Product		Access	Min Balance
Beverley Building Society Top pick	Junior Cash ISA	3.85% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Leek Building Society Top pick	Junior Cash ISA	3.85% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Skipton Building Society	Junior Cash ISA	3.80% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Compare JISA with other accounts See All Rates
Stafford Building Society	Junior Cash ISA	3.76% Variable	Locked until 18	£1,000
Coventry Building Society	Junior Cash ISA	3.75% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Danske Bank	Junior Cash ISA	3.75% Variable	Locked until 18	£25
Nottingham Building Society	Junior ISA	3.75% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Vernon Building Society	Junior Cash ISA	3.75% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Family Building Society	Junior Cash ISA	3.70% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
NS&I	Junior ISA	3.70% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
CMC Invest Top digital pick	Junior Cash ISA	3.56% Variable	Locked until 18	£1
Monzo	Under 16s Savings Account	2.75% Variable	Instant	£1

Beverley Building Society

Top pick

3.85%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Leek Building Society

Top pick

3.85%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Skipton Building Society

3.80%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Compare JISA with other accounts

See All Rates

Stafford Building Society

3.76%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1,000

Coventry Building Society

3.75%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Danske Bank

3.75%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£25

Nottingham Building Society

3.75%

AER

Variable

Junior ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Vernon Building Society

3.75%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Family Building Society

3.70%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

NS&I

3.70%

AER

Variable

Junior ISA

Interest Paid

Annually

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

CMC Invest

Top digital pick

3.56%

AER

Variable

Junior Cash ISA

Interest Paid

Monthly

Access

Locked until 18

Minimum Balance

£1

Monzo

2.75%

AER

Variable

Under 16s Savings Account

Interest Paid

Monthly

Access

Instant

Minimum Balance

£1

Showing 12 of 12 results

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Junior ISA at a glance

Best rate today: 3.85% AER
Top provider: Leek Building Society
Accounts tracked: 20
Providers tracked: 20
Protection: FSCS up to £120,000
Rates checked: 2 August 2026

For a young child, many advisers favour a Stocks & Shares Junior ISA given the long investment horizon; for a teenager or for parents who want certainty, the best Junior Cash ISA rate wins. There's no wrong answer — a child can hold one of each, and Junior ISA rates are often higher than adult equivalents.

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Not sure if a Junior ISA is right for you? Penny compares every account we track and answers in plain English.

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What is a Junior ISA?

A Junior ISA is a long-term, tax-free savings account for children under 18 living in the UK. Parents or guardians open it, but anyone — grandparents, family friends — can pay in, up to £9,000 per child for the 2026/27 tax year. That allowance is completely separate from the adult ISA allowance, so saving for your child doesn't reduce what you can shelter yourself.

The money belongs to the child from day one and is locked away until they turn 18 (the child can take over managing the account from 16, and at 18 it automatically converts into an adult ISA in their name). That lock-in is the point: it guarantees the pot survives until adulthood — but it also means you should only pay in money the family won't need back.

Junior ISAs come in two forms — Cash (a savings account, capital protected) and Stocks & Shares (invested, capital at risk) — and a child can hold one of each. Junior Cash ISA rates are often noticeably higher than equivalent adult accounts, as providers compete for long-lived deposits.

How to open a Junior ISA

Only a parent or guardian with parental responsibility can open a Junior ISA (children aged 16–17 can open one for themselves), but once open, anyone can contribute.

1Step 1 of 5

Check the child doesn't already have a Junior ISA of the same type — a child can hold only one Junior Cash ISA and one Junior Stocks & Shares ISA at a time (existing ones can be transferred).

2Step 2 of 5

Compare rates in the table above. Junior Cash ISA rates vary widely, and loyalty is punished here as much as anywhere.

3Step 3 of 5

Apply online or in branch with your details and the child's birth certificate details. If the child was born between 2002 and 2011 they may have a Child Trust Fund instead — this can be transferred into a Junior ISA (and usually should be, as JISA rates and choice are better).

4Step 4 of 5

Pay in whatever suits — lump sums or monthly amounts. Share the account details with family who'd like to contribute on birthdays.

5Step 5 of 5

Review the rate yearly. Junior ISAs can be transferred between providers at any time without losing tax-free status.

Junior ISA pros and cons

Pros

Separate £9,000 annual allowance per child — doesn't touch your adult allowance
All interest or investment growth is completely tax-free
Junior Cash ISA rates are often higher than adult equivalents
Locked until 18, so the pot genuinely reaches adulthood intact
Junior Cash ISAs are FSCS protected up to £120,000

Cons

No withdrawals until the child turns 18 — even by parents, except in extreme circumstances
At 18 the money is legally the child's to spend however they like
A child can only hold one Junior Cash ISA at a time, so transfers are needed to switch
Contributions from all sources share the one allowance
Stocks & Shares Junior ISAs can fall in value

Is my child's money safe in a Junior ISA?

Junior Cash ISAs are deposit accounts protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per child, per authorised banking licence — the child's protection is separate from yours, even at the same bank. Every Junior Cash ISA listed on DepositScout is FSCS protected.

Junior Stocks & Shares ISAs carry investment risk — the value can fall as well as rise. Over a 10–18 year horizon, that risk has historically been well rewarded, but it's a genuine difference from the cash version: choose based on how long the money will be invested and your appetite for fluctuation on the child's behalf.

Junior ISAs and tax

Everything inside a Junior ISA — interest or investment growth — is free from income tax and capital gains tax, with nothing to declare. When the JISA converts to an adult ISA at 18, the whole pot keeps its tax-free status and doesn't touch the child's new adult allowance.

The wrapper also neutralises a little-known rule: outside an ISA, if money given by a parent earns a child more than £100 of interest a year, all of it is taxed as the parent's income. Inside a Junior ISA that rule doesn't apply — parents can contribute the full allowance with no tax consequences for either generation.

Work out what you'll keep after taxFree UK savings tax calculator — personal allowance, tax bands and take-home interest.

Junior Cash ISA vs Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

A child can hold one of each, and contributions to both share the annual allowance — so this needn't be either/or:

Junior Cash ISA

A tax-free savings account in the child's name. Capital is protected and FSCS covered, and rates often beat adult accounts. The right choice for certainty, shorter horizons (teenagers), or as the stable half of a mixed approach.

Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Invests the child's money in funds or shares, tax-free. Values fluctuate, but with a decade-plus until access, many families favour investing for younger children — historically, long investment horizons have outpaced cash. Fees matter as much as performance; compare both.

Junior ISA FAQs

Straight answers to the questions savers actually ask.

Looking for something else?

Compare every account type we track, side by side.

Savings accounts

Easy Access

Withdraw whenever you like — ideal for emergency funds.

Fixed Rate

Lock your money away for a guaranteed rate.

Notice Accounts

Give 30–180 days' notice in return for higher rates.

Regular Savers

High headline rates on smaller monthly deposits.

ISAs

Cash ISA

Tax-free interest on up to £20,000 a year.

Lifetime ISA

25% government bonus towards a first home or retirement.

Stocks & Shares ISA

Invest tax-free — compare platforms and fees.

Written by

Jonny Pease

Reviewed by

Jan Watermann

Rates checked 2 August 2026

How we rank·How we make money·Editorial policy

This page is for information only and is not financial advice. Rates and account terms can change at any time — always confirm the details on the provider's website before opening an account. Read our full disclaimer.

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