How to Transfer Your Stocks & Shares ISA in 2026 (and Why Waiting Until 2027 Could Cost You)

As of October 2026, moving a stocks and shares ISA to a new provider is free to start, keeps all your tax-free status, and should take no more than 30 calendar days, provided you let the new provider run the transfer. The one thing that can go wrong is withdrawing the money yourself, which permanently loses that slice of your ISA allowance. This guide walks through the steps, the cash versus in-specie choice, and what your old provider might charge.

A stocks and shares ISA is a tax-free wrapper for investments, with a £20,000 annual allowance across all your ISAs. It's written for UK savers who want to move to a cheaper or simpler platform, and it's based on a comparison of GOV.UK guidance and provider help pages rather than a first-hand test of any transfer.

Quick answer

• The rule: Never withdraw and re-deposit. Open the new account and ask the new provider to transfer it (GOV.UK, checked 9 October 2026).
• How long: Non-cash ISA transfers have a 30 calendar day limit; cash-to-cash transfers 15 working days (GOV.UK).
• What you can move: All or part, including this year's subscription (GOV.UK). Provider rules can be stricter.
• Biggest decision: cash transfer (sell first, out of the market for a while) or in-specie (investments move as they are, if both sides support it).
• Biggest cost: usually the exit, dealing or re-registration charges at your old provider, not the new one.

How to transfer a stocks and shares ISA, step by step

Start with the new provider, not the old one. GOV.UK says to contact the provider you want to move to and complete their ISA transfer form; they handle the rest (GOV.UK, checked 9 October 2026).

1. Check the old provider's charges. Look for an exit fee, dealing costs if holdings must be sold, and re-registration fees if you move investments in-specie. InvestEngine notes your existing provider "may charge fees to leave their platform" (InvestEngine help centre, 9 October 2026).
2. Pick the new provider and check it supports what you hold. If you own individual shares and the new platform is ETF-only, those shares will be sold.
3. Open the new ISA and start the transfer inside the new app. You'll enter your old provider and account number. Make sure your name, address and National Insurance number match the old provider's records.
4. Choose all or part, and cash or in-specie. More on that below.
5. Don't touch the old account while the transfer is in progress, and don't pay new money into it that you expected to move.
6. Track it. InvestEngine shows Valuation, Transfer, Settlement and Completion stages and an estimated completion date (InvestEngine help centre, 9 October 2026). Lightyear offers a transaction tracker, app notifications and email.
7. Invest the cash when it lands. Transferred cash can sit uninvested until you act. InvestEngine says money appears in your ISA Cash Portfolio and is only invested automatically if AutoInvest is on.

If a transfer overruns, contact your provider first. If you're still unhappy, GOV.UK says you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Cash transfer or in-specie?

A cash transfer sells your holdings and moves the money; an in-specie (asset-for-asset) transfer moves the investments themselves. In-specie keeps you invested throughout, but only works when the new provider offers every holding and the old provider supports it.

What the three platforms we cover say (all checked 9 October 2026):

• InvestEngine: transfers in are free. In-specie is accepted only into DIY portfolios, for ETFs matching its list exactly, and only on full ISA transfers. Partial transfers are processed as cash. It says it cannot process in-specie ISA requests from Trading 212, so that route is cash only. A current-tax-year ISA moving from Trading 212 must go in full.
• Lightyear: doesn't charge for an ISA transfer in. Minimums are £500 for cash and £1,000 for in-specie. The transfer is full, and for investments Lightyear doesn't support, you choose whether to receive their value as cash or leave them with your current provider. It announced asset-for-asset ISA transfers on 20 May 2025.
• Trading 212: accepts both in-specie (stock) and cash ISA transfers in, though whether your holdings can move as stock depends on your current provider. It says it doesn't charge any fees, but your other provider might, and it doesn't state a minimum. Cash transfers in can be full or partial. Going the other way, an in-specie transfer out of a Trading 212 ISA must be the whole account, partial transfers out are cash only, and fractional shares have to be sold because only whole shares move (Trading 212 help centre, checked 16 October 2026). For transfers out, the Financial Ombudsman has upheld two complaints against Trading 212 UK Limited about delays, in one case where holdings couldn't move in-specie and had to be sold first, and in another where the firm was late telling the customer to sell (Financial Ombudsman Service, DRN-6055840 and DRN-5981917). These are individual cases, not proof of a systemic problem, but they're a reason to start early if you're leaving.

What your old provider might charge

The cost to watch is at the platform you're leaving. Receiving providers rarely charge. Exits are less predictable.

The big platforms have mostly dropped exit fees. Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, interactive investor, Fidelity and Vanguard all say on their own charges pages that they don't charge to transfer out, and interactive investor says that includes in-specie transfers (provider charges pages, checked 16 October 2026). AJ Bell will also cover up to £500 of exit fees charged by your old provider when you transfer £20,000 or more in. Some smaller and bank-run share-dealing services still charge per holding, so a portfolio of ten funds can cost more to move than you'd expect.

The practical rule: before you start, read your current platform's charges page, search for "transfer out" or "exit", and ask whether any fee applies per holding. Also check whether you'd pay dealing charges if holdings must be sold. Some destination platforms run cashback offers that can offset exit costs, but check the terms.

Mistakes that cost people money

Withdrawing instead of transferring. This is the expensive one. GOV.UK: "you will not be able to" reinvest that part of your allowance if you take the money out yourself. A withdrawal doesn't count as a transfer.

Selling at a bad moment. A cash transfer means your investments are sold before the money moves. You're out of the market until the cash arrives and you reinvest, which can cost you if markets rise in the gap. In-specie avoids this where it's available.

Forgetting this year's subscription. GOV.UK allows partial transfers including the current year's money, but provider rules vary. InvestEngine, for example, says a current-tax-year ISA moving from Trading 212 must be transferred in full, with partial transfers allowed only for earlier years and only as cash.

Moving for a 0.1% saving you'll never notice. If your balance is small, check the saving actually exceeds the exit costs and the time out of the market.

Ignoring the April 2027 one-way door. From 6 April 2027, under-65s can't transfer a stocks and shares ISA into a cash ISA. Moving between investment ISAs stays allowed. We cover the detail in the ISA one-way door explainer. The takeaway for a transfer now: make sure the money you move is money you're happy to leave invested.

Which new provider suits you?

Fees change, so confirm current terms on each provider's site. As of our October 2026 reading, this is how the three affiliate-partner platforms we cover differ for someone moving an ISA.

For a side-by-side view, see our best investing apps UK roundup, the InvestEngine vs Trading 212 comparison, and Lightyear vs InvestEngine. If safety is your hesitation about a new platform, our Trading 212 review covers FCA status and FSCS cover. The FSCS protects eligible investments up to £85,000 per person, per firm if an authorised firm fails, but it doesn't cover investment losses (FSCS, checked 9 October 2026).

Should you move at all?

Move if you're paying a platform fee you could avoid, your current provider can't hold what you want, or you want everything in one place. Stay put if the saving is tiny, your holdings can't move in-specie and you don't want to sell, or your provider has recently had slow transfer reports and you can't afford a long gap.

There's no deadline for moving between investment ISAs, so there's no reason to rush on the back of "April 2027" headlines.

This is general information, not financial advice. Rules, fees and provider terms are as of 9 October 2026 and can change, so check the current position with your provider or GOV.UK before acting. Do your own research and consider speaking to a qualified adviser for your situation.

Last updated: 9 October 2026.