The overall ISA investment limit is £7,200 per tax year (in 2009/10) which can be spread between stocks & shares and cash (it rises in October 09 for the over-50s to £10,200, however, and for everyone else in April 10). But there are limits on the amounts that can be allocated to each component and they vary according to the kind of ISA you take out.
Maxi-ISAs
£7,200 (£10,200) in Stocks & Shares
or
Cash: £3,600 (£5,100)
Stocks & Shares: £3,600 (£5,100)
So, if you allocate £2,000 to Cash, you can put £5,200 into shares (or under the new limits, with £4,000 in Cash you could put £6,200 in shares). If you allocate nothing to Cash, you can put the full £7,200 (£10,200) in shares.
Mini-ISAs
Remember - you can subscribe to up to 2 mini-ISAs annually, and use a different manager for each of the components. The limits are as follows:-
Cash: £3,600 (£5,100)
Stocks & Shares: £3,600 (£5,100)
The important point to note is that if you under-subscribe to any mini-ISA, the unused amount cannot be allocated to any other mini-ISA. So if you allocate £2,000 to Cash, the Stocks & Shares limit is still £3,600 and not £5,200 as would be the case with a maxi-ISA (or under the new limits, £4,000 in Cash would still leave your Stocks & Shares limit at £5,100). This is a fundamental area of difference between maxi and mini-ISAs.
TESSA-only ISAs (TOISAs)
The capital component only of the proceeds of a matured TESSA can be transferred into a special TESSA-only Cash ISA within 6 months of the TESSA's maturity.
Note that matured TESSA capital can also be invested in a Cash Mini ISA or the Cash component of a maxi ISA, and in both instances it counts as a zero value contribution - thus, if you want to invest more than £3,000 into stocks & shares, you could put the TESSA capital into the Cash component of a Maxi and still be able to invest up to £7,000 in equities in that Maxi.
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