As of the 2021-22 tax year, the annual tax allowance or limit for a JISA is £9,000. For any contributions over the limit, the excess is held in a savings account in trust for the child.  

Your JISA allowance resets at the start of each tax year. The tax year starts on 6th April and your allowance, or any unused portion of it, doesn’t carry over to the next tax year.  

If you don’t want to lose it, use it. Find out if a junior ISA is right for you.

Only a parent or legal guardian residing in the UK can open a JISA on behalf of their child. Only the ‘registered contact’ can manage the account. 

The registered contact is the only person who can: 

• change the account, e.g. adjust risk levels 
• change the account provider 
• report changes of circumstances, e.g. change of address 

Those who live outside of the UK can only become a registered contact if they are a crown servant (in the UK’s armed forces, diplomatic service or overseas civil service) and the child depends on them for care. Both criteria must apply. 

To open a Nutmeg JISA, the account holder must contribute a minimum of £100. Note, you must have an existing account* with Nutmeg to open a JISA.  

*If you’re opening a new Nutmeg account for the purpose of opening a JISA, the account can remain unfunded. 

The money in a JISA belongs to the child in all but exceptional circumstances. 

When the child turns 16, they may apply to become the registered contact and manage the JISA themselves. However, they cannot withdraw the money until they’re 18. 

There are two types of JISA: 

• In a cash Junior ISA, you do not pay tax on interest. Although cash is guaranteed not to fall in value, annual inflation will have an adverse impact on its value. 
• In a stocks and shares Junior ISA, you pay no tax on capital growth or dividends. Investments are riskier but may mean growth is potentially greater than a cash product. However, unlike cash, the value of a stocks and shares Junior ISA can go up or down. 

A child can have a cash JISA, a stocks and shares JISA, or both. 

With Nutmeg, you may only open one pot per stocks and shares JISA, but a parent or guardian may open multiple JISAs. 

In most case, anyone, including parents, friends and family, can contribute on behalf of the child, provided total contributions fall below the JISA limit.

Any contributions to a JISA are not factored into your annual ISA allowance.* Nor do they count towards your Lifetime ISA limit.

*Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

A registered contact may transfer either a JISA or Child Trust Fund from another provider to Nutmeg.

The child can take control of the account when they’re 16 but cannot access the money until they turn 18. If not withdrawn at age 18, the money rolls into an adult ISA.

You cannot have a JISA as well as a Child Trust Fund (CTF). If you want to open a JISA you must transfer the CTF in.  

A Child Trust Fund is a long-term tax-free savings account for children. The CTF scheme is now closed, so you cannot apply for a new one. But people with existing CTFs can continue to contribute £9,000 a year into them.