A complete guide to the Junior ISA allowance

We all want to give our little ones a financial helping hand, but when doing so you need to stay on the right side of the Junior ISA allowance. 

This JISA limit caps how much you can put in a Junior ISA each tax year. If you are the registered contact for a child’s account, you need to make sure the allowance is not exceeded. This might seem unlikely, but contributions from generous relatives and friends can stack up! 

For more on accounts for young investors, check out our full guide to JISAs.

What is the Junior ISA allowance?

The annual JISA allowance is £9,000 for the 2025/26 tax year, and the same again for 2026/27. In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the government announced that the limit will remain at £9,000 until the end of 2030/31.

This is the maximum amount that can be contributed to a child’s Junior ISA accounts each tax year.

When does the Junior ISA allowance reset?

Just like with a fully-fledged ISA allowance, the Junior ISA allowance applies to each tax year. This means it runs from 6 April to 5 April, before resetting. 

So, if £9,000 has been submitted to a child’s JISA between 6 April 2025 and 5 April 2026, they have fully used their allowance for the 2025/26 tax year. However, from 6 April 2026, their allowance is refreshed to £9,000.

‍Remember: Unused allowances cannot be carried forward into the next tax year. Use it or lose it!

How to maximise your child’s JISA annual allowance?

Contributing £9,000 to a child’s savings account is not necessarily a realistic goal for every family, but here are some tips to help you make the most of the allowance:

• Start early: Starting to contribute early in the tax year will help you get the most out of each year’s allowance, and set good habits.
• Regular contributions: Setting up automatic contributions, such as Direct Debits, can take the admin out of contributing. 
• Friends and family: If loved ones want to give a monetary gift to your child, tell them about their JISA account. Try to track total contributions across everyone so the allowance is not exceeded. Just remember, contributions to a Freetrade JISA must come from the account’s registered contact.

‍Remember: You can manage your child’s Free Junior ISA through the app and web, alongside your other Freetrade accounts.

What happens if you go over your JISA allowance?

Exceeding the JISA allowance may result in contributions being returned or held by a provider in a ‘feeder account’ before being added to the account when a new tax year begins. Freetrade will return contributions that exceed the allowance.

You can track how much of a child’s JISA allowance has been used in the current tax year through your provider. However, you may have to manually track contributions yourself if a child has both a stocks and shares JISA and a cash JISA with different providers.

If your child’s JISA allowance has been exceeded, contact your provider.

Does a Junior ISA count towards the ISA allowance?

The JISA allowance is separate from the adult ISA allowance, so you do not need to choose between saving for your children/grandchildren and saving for yourself! JISA allowances apply to the child, not the contributors. 

So, if you have multiple children you want to contribute to, you can contribute over £9,000 as long as each individual child does not exceed their allowance.

This is one of the major perks of a JISA, as it can effectively extend a parent’s annual contributions to tax-efficient accounts by £9,000 per child. Assuming they intend to save some money for their children’s future, that is. 

‍Remember: Any money in a child’s JISA belongs to them the moment it enters the account. You cannot withdraw it, and the money will remain in their account until they turn 18 and can choose what to do with it.

Does a JISA transfer count towards allowance?

If you transfer from one Junior ISA to another, this will not count towards the allowance. Nor does a transfer from a Child Trust Fund to a Junior ISA count towards the allowance. 

Only contributions from outside the child’s tax-efficient accounts count towards the annual allowance.

Junior ISA allowance history

How is it different from Child Trust Fund allowance?

You cannot open a new Child Trust Fund account, as these were replaced by the Junior ISA in 2011. However, you can transfer an existing Child Trust Fund into a JISA.

The JISA and Child Trust Fund allowances are both currently £9,000. The JISA limit follows the tax year, and the Child Trust Fund limit runs in line with a child’s birthday, resetting for each new year of their life.  

Junior ISA Allowance FAQs

What is the Junior ISA allowance?

The Junior ISA allowance is the amount that can be contributed to each child’s Junior ISA(s) each tax year.

How much can you put in a Junior ISA each year?

In 2025/26, the annual Junior ISA allowance is £9,000 per child. 

Does a Junior ISA count towards my ISA allowance?

Contributing to a child’s Junior ISA does not count towards your ISA allowance. The JISA allowance is for the child, not the contributors.

Do Junior ISA transfers count towards the allowance?

Transfers between Junior ISAs do not count towards the annual allowance.

What was the Junior ISA allowance last year?

The annual Junior ISA allowance has been £9,000 since 2020/21. 

What happens if you exceed the JISA allowance?

If a child receives contributions in excess of the allowance, these will either be returned by the JISA provider or pooled in a client account and automatically added to the JISA the following tax year. Any returns earned by the excess funds will be subject to taxation, and repeated breaches of the allowance could lead to penalties from HMRC. 

Can you carry forward an unused Junior ISA allowance?

You cannot carry forward unused Junior ISA allowances from previous tax years.

How can you check the remaining Junior ISA allowance?

If a child has a single Junior ISA with a single provider, logging into the account will usually inform you of the remaining JISA limit. If a child has both a stocks and shares JISA and a cash JISA spread across multiple providers, it is up to you to ensure total contributions do not exceed the allowance. 

Do dividends count towards the Junior ISA allowance?

Dividend income within an account does not count towards the Junior ISA allowance.

Can you inherit a Junior ISA allowance?

No, you cannot inherit a Junior ISA allowance. In addition, interest, dividends or gains made following the date of death are not exempt from tax.