What is a 'bed and ISA'?

A 'bed and ISA' is a double transaction that can help shelter your non-ISA investments from capital gains tax, and further tax on dividends.*

First you sell your chosen non-ISA investments (the ‘bed’ half of the phrase), and then use the proceeds to buy them back immediately within an ISA – without having to wait for the settlement of funds. This means that future gains generated by your assets are now protected from capital gains tax by the ISA’s tax-efficient wrapper, where before they weren’t.

HMRC do not allow the movement of shares into an ISA, so your shares need to be sold and the cash transferred to the ISA before they can be repurchased. Any profit made from this sale of shares will still be subject to capital gains tax, and the cash balance transferred deducted from your annual ISA allowance.

Costs of a 'bed and ISA'

We charge £40 on the sale of shares per line of stock, but you won’t incur any cost from us on the repurchase.

There may be PTM (Panel of Takeovers and Mergers) Levy of £1 to pay on both sides of the trade, depending on the share and the consideration of the trade.

Depending on the share, you may also need to pay stamp duty on the repurchase within your ISA.

When selling and rebuying shares there is a risk of price movement while you’re out of the market, and therefore a difference in sell and buy price between the open and close of the trade. This can result in buying back fewer shares than you originally held. By using the 'bed and ISA' process, this risk is capped at between either £30 or £50 spread per line of stock.

To cover the cost of a 'bed and ISA', you can either fund your account or agree for a number of the shares to be sold and the proceeds used.

Process

To arrange a 'bed and ISA' for your account, please call our helpdesk on 0800 409 6789. One of our team will be able to make the request for you.

* Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.