Britons rush to tax-free savings accounts at fastest pace since pandemic

British households flocked to tax-free investment accounts last year at the fastest pace since the pandemic, according to official data.

Savers contributed to a record 16.8 million Adult Individual Savings Accounts, or ISAs, in 2024/25, according to a report published by HM Revenue and Customs on Wednesday. That’s up from 15 million in the previous year.

The increase was driven by a surge in stocks-and-shares ISAs, which allow holders to buy into a range of investments without paying tax on the returns.

An extra 802 000 of these accounts received contributions in 2025, bringing the total to 4.89 million. The increase is nearly triple last year’s rise and the biggest jump since 2020-21.

While cash accounts make up 64% of the ISAs that UK savers contributed to in 2024/25 – a total of 10.7 million accounts – that share is down slightly, from 66% the year before.

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However, high interest rates helped to boost the amount of cash saved. Britons put about £135.7 billion ($182.8 billion) into ISAs in 2024/25, including £95.6 billion in cash ISAs – 37.5% more than the year before.

New funds poured into stocks-and-shares ISAs were up almost 20% on the previous year.

The UK government announced tighter limits on tax-free cash savings at the last budget, with the aim of encouraging more investment.

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Britons under the age of 65 can put as much as £20 000 a year into ISAs but under the new rules, which come into force in April, only £12 000 of that allowance can be in cash.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, attributed some of the rise in cash savings to speculation before the budget about the drop in the cash ISA allowance.

“Ironically, a move that was intended to encourage people to move from savings to investing managed to dramatically increase the amount being saved,” she said in a statement.

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“Enthusiasm for stocks-and-shares ISAs was also fired up by impressive investment performance during the year, with global and US stock markets delivering double-digit gains.”

© 2026 Bloomberg

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