What can you hold in an ISA?
A Cash ISA holds savings, a Stocks and Shares ISA holds shares, funds and bonds, and an Innovative Finance ISA holds peer-to-peer loans, crowdfunding debentures and certain other investments. A Lifetime ISA may hold either cash or stocks and shares. Cryptoassets themselves cannot be held in any ISA.
The short answer
- Cash ISA: savings in bank and building society accounts, and some National Savings and Investments products.
- Stocks and Shares ISA: shares in companies, unit trusts and investment funds, corporate bonds, government bonds and long-term asset funds. With investments your capital is at risk.
- Innovative Finance ISA: peer-to-peer loans, crowdfunding debentures, certain funds and cryptoasset exchange traded notes. A Lifetime ISA may hold either cash or stocks and shares.
- Cannot be held: cryptoassets themselves, such as a coin or token held directly. Non-ISA shares you already own cannot be transferred in, unless they're from an employee share scheme.
What can each type of ISA hold?
gov.uk lists four adult ISAs: the Cash ISA, the Stocks and Shares ISA, the Innovative Finance ISA and the Lifetime ISA. Each has its own list of what it can hold. gov.uk says there is no tax on interest on cash in an ISA, or on income or capital gains from investments in an ISA.
| ISA type | What it can hold | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash ISA | Savings in bank and building society accounts; some National Savings and Investments products | Interest on cash is tax-free. A planned 22% charge on cash interest in investment ISAs never applied to Cash ISAs. |
| Stocks and Shares ISA | Shares in companies; unit trusts and investment funds; corporate bonds; government bonds; long-term asset funds | Capital at risk. Cryptoasset exchange traded notes cannot be held, unless they were held there before 6 April 2026. |
| Innovative Finance ISA | Peer-to-peer loans; crowdfunding debentures; funds that cannot be held in a Stocks and Shares ISA because of their notice or redemption period; cryptoasset exchange traded notes | Capital at risk. Long-term asset funds cannot be held, unless they were held there before 6 April 2026. |
| Lifetime ISA | Either cash or stocks and shares | Takes up to £4,000 of the £20,000 yearly allowance. Capital at risk with stocks and shares. |
A Junior ISA can also hold either cash or stocks and shares. See Junior ISAs.
What an ISA can hold is a separate question from how much can go in, which the ISA allowance covers. These are the numbers that go with the rules on this page.
What ISAs can hold, at a glance
- Overall ISA allowance, 2026/27
- £20,000
- A year, across all your adult ISAs
- Lifetime ISA limit, inside that
- £4,000
- Counts within the overall allowance
- Rules for crypto notes and long-term asset funds changed
- 6 April 2026
- Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISAs
- Planned charge on interest on cash in Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISAs
- 22%
- Planned for April 2027, unconfirmed
What can you hold in a Cash ISA?
A Cash ISA holds cash savings. gov.uk says Cash ISAs can include:
- savings in bank and building society accounts
- some National Savings and Investments products
Interest on cash in an ISA is tax-free. A planned 22% charge on interest on cash held in Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISAs is unconfirmed after the Budget, and it never applied to Cash ISAs. See what a Cash ISA is, the Cash ISA limit and our Cash ISA rate tables.
What can you hold in a Stocks and Shares ISA?
gov.uk says a Stocks and Shares ISA can include:
- shares in companies
- unit trusts and investment funds
- corporate bonds
- government bonds
- long-term asset funds
HMRC’s guidance for ISA managers, updated on 6 April 2026, sets out the qualifying investments in more detail. Its list includes:
- shares
- securities issued by companies
- government securities
- units or shares in UK UCITS funds and qualifying non-UCITS retail schemes
- shares and securities in qualifying investment trusts
- units or shares in recognised overseas (OFR) UCITS funds
- shares from SAYE or SIP employee share schemes
- depositary interests and receipts
- cash
- certain life insurance policies
- long-term asset funds
These are HMRC’s own terms. The full list is in its guidance, linked under sources.
Shares. HMRC says shares qualify if they are issued by a company incorporated anywhere in the world and are either officially listed on a recognised stock exchange or admitted to trading on a recognised stock exchange in the UK or the EEA.
Cash. Cash is on HMRC’s list, so a Stocks and Shares ISA can hold it. HMRC had planned a 22% charge on interest on that cash from 6 April 2027, and a rule that money market funds would be the only cash-like holdings. Neither is in the Budget documents, so both are unconfirmed. See cash inside a Stocks and Shares ISA and ISA changes 2027.
Crypto notes. gov.uk says cryptoasset exchange traded notes cannot be held in a Stocks and Shares ISA, unless they were held there before 6 April 2026, and that they will need to be held in an Innovative Finance ISA.
With investments your capital is at risk: their value can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. See Stocks and Shares ISAs and Cash ISA or Stocks and Shares ISA. Funds with ethical or sustainable aims, and portfolios where a provider picks and manages the mix, can also sit in a Stocks and Shares ISA: see ethical and sustainable ISAs and ready-made portfolio ISAs.
What can you hold in an Innovative Finance ISA?
gov.uk says an Innovative Finance ISA includes:
- peer-to-peer loans
- ‘crowdfunding debentures’ (investing in a business by buying its debt)
- funds where the notice or redemption period means they cannot be held in a Stocks and Shares ISA
- cryptoasset exchange traded notes
HMRC’s list of qualifying investments for these ISAs also names alternative finance arrangements, less-liquid investments and cash.
Two rules limit what goes in. Long-term asset funds cannot be held in an Innovative Finance ISA, unless they were held there before 6 April 2026, and will need to be held in a Stocks and Shares ISA. And gov.uk says you cannot transfer any arrangements you’ve already made or investments you already hold into an Innovative Finance ISA.
Apart from cash, these are investments, and your capital is at risk. See what an Innovative Finance ISA is and its risks.
What can you hold in a Lifetime ISA?
gov.uk says a Lifetime ISA may include either cash or stocks and shares. A Lifetime ISA takes up to £4,000 of the £20,000 yearly allowance. With stocks and shares your capital is at risk. See the Lifetime ISA.
What changed on 6 April 2026?
gov.uk’s wording moves two kinds of holding from one ISA type to the other from 6 April 2026, with an exception for holdings already in place.
| Holding | Needs to be held in | Exception |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptoasset exchange traded notes | Innovative Finance ISA | Allowed in a Stocks and Shares ISA if held there before 6 April 2026. |
| Long-term asset funds | Stocks and Shares ISA | Allowed in an Innovative Finance ISA if held there before 6 April 2026. |
HMRC’s guidance for ISA managers adds that cryptoasset exchange traded notes (cETNs) already held in a Stocks and Shares ISA immediately before 6 April 2026 continue to be treated as qualifying investments for as long as they remain held in that account. See Can you hold crypto in an ISA?
What can you not hold in an ISA?
- Cryptoassets themselves. HMRC’s lists of qualifying investments do not include cryptoassets themselves, such as a coin or token held directly, so they cannot be held in any ISA. A cryptoasset exchange traded note is different: it can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA. See Can you hold crypto in an ISA?
- Shares and investments you already own. gov.uk says you cannot transfer any non-ISA shares you already own into an ISA unless they’re from an employee share scheme. For an Innovative Finance ISA, it says you cannot transfer any arrangements you’ve already made or investments you already hold into it.
- Anything not on the list. An investment can be held only if it is on HMRC’s list for that type of ISA. Physical assets are not on HMRC’s lists.
In this guide
- Can you hold crypto in an ISA? Coins and tokens cannot be held in any ISA. Cryptoasset exchange traded notes can sit in an Innovative Finance ISA, and the FCA treats them as high risk.
Questions people ask
Can you hold crypto in an ISA?
Not directly. HMRC's lists of qualifying investments do not include cryptoassets themselves, such as a coin or token held directly, so they cannot be held in any ISA. A cryptoasset exchange traded note can be held in an Innovative Finance ISA, and it is a high-risk investment: you could lose all the money you invest. See Can you hold crypto in an ISA?
Can you hold ETFs in an ISA?
Only if the fund falls within a category on HMRC's list. HMRC's list of qualifying investments for Stocks and Shares ISAs includes units or shares in UK UCITS funds and qualifying non-UCITS retail schemes, and units or shares in recognised overseas (OFR) UCITS funds. Whether a particular exchange traded fund can be held depends on whether it falls within one of those categories. With investments your capital is at risk.
Can you hold gold or property directly in an ISA?
Only if it is on HMRC's list of qualifying investments for that type of ISA, and physical assets are not on those lists. So gold or a property owned directly cannot be held in an ISA.
Can you move shares you already own into an ISA?
Not unless they come from an employee share scheme. gov.uk says you cannot transfer any non-ISA shares you already own into an ISA unless they're from an employee share scheme, and HMRC's list for Stocks and Shares ISAs includes shares from SAYE or SIP employee schemes. For an Innovative Finance ISA, gov.uk says you cannot transfer any arrangements you've already made or investments you already hold into it.
Can you hold cash in a Stocks and Shares ISA?
Yes. Cash is on HMRC's list of qualifying investments for Stocks and Shares ISAs. HMRC had planned a 22% charge on interest on cash held in a Stocks and Shares or Innovative Finance ISA from 6 April 2027, and a rule that money market funds would be the only cash-like holdings. Neither is in the Budget documents of 28 October 2026 and press reports say they are not going ahead as planned, so they are unconfirmed. See cash inside a Stocks and Shares ISA.
Sources
- 1 Individual Savings Accounts: how ISAs work (GOV.UK) (gov.uk)
- 2 Stocks and shares ISA investments for ISA managers (HMRC guidance, GOV.UK, updated 6 April 2026) (gov.uk)
- 3 Innovative finance ISA investments for ISA managers (HMRC guidance, GOV.UK) (gov.uk)
- 4 Tax treatment of cryptoasset Exchange Traded Notes (HMRC, 8 October 2025) (gov.uk)
- 5 ISA reform 2027: anti-circumvention rules factsheet (HMRC, 23 June 2026) (gov.uk)