What is a Junior ISA?
A Junior ISA is an account in your child’s name that allows you to save for them, without paying any tax.
So no income tax (on the interest you earn from savings), dividends tax (on any dividends you receive from stocks & shares), and no capital gains tax (on any profit you make).
The money belongs to your kid and so you can benefit from tax rules on child's savings.
Win win.
Who can open a Junior ISA?
If your little one is under 16, it has to be a parent or a legal guardian. Once they turn 16, they can have a say in how it’s managed.
With Prosper, once the account is opened, you can invite a partner to manage it with you. Family and friends can also send contributions and start chipping into your child’s future.
The two types of Junior ISA
There are two types of Junior ISA accounts and you can only have one of each. A stocks and shares one invests your money in the stock market, so how much you get back might vary.
A Junior Cash ISA is more like a piggy bank. It keeps your money safe and usually pays a set amount of interest. These are usually provided by banks or building societies and work in a very similar way to savings accounts.
The stocks and shares Junior ISA tends to outperform cash savings over a long period of time but this isn’t guaranteed.
How much you can put in changes each year
This tax year, the limit’s £9,000.
This can be split across a Junior cash ISA or a Junior stocks and shares ISA, so you might have £3k in one, and £6k in the other.
If you don’t hit this junior ISA allowance, you can’t carry any of it over to the next tax year. Use it or lose it.
With Prosper, anyone can contribute to this allowance (like grandparents), but not all providers do this.
The money is under lock and key until their 18th birthday
That means you can’t take out any money until the big day.
The Junior ISA will turn into an adult ISA in your not-so-little one’s name the second they turn 18. They can continue investing or withdraw – and spend – the money as they like. Fingers crossed for the former.
Goals for every occasion and every child
Their first house. University fees. Or just a pot of money to hand over on their 18th birthday for them to manage as they please. We’re sure they’ll be sensible.
Set up goals for each of your children. Track your progress, contribute whenever you want and help it grow as your little one’s do.
Invite family and friends to join in
And bring joy to gifting money.
Each account comes with a unique link. Share it with family and friends and swap the endless toys for an investment gifted directly into their Junior ISA.
No paperwork, no hassle. Grandparents, Godparents, Aunts & Uncles can all invest for your kid’s future. With the bonus that it's into a tax free investment account.
Celebrate milestones, cherish the moments
Gifting money doesn’t have to be cold or icky.
With Prosper anyone can leave a message or photo with their gift of money. Grandparents, Godparents and even Uncle Jack. No excuses for him to forget birthdays anymore.
Why choose a Prosper JISA account
Open an account in minutes, from anywhere
No queues, no branch visits.
You can start investing for your child in minutes.
Invest together with friends and family
Uncle. Grandmother. Whoever you want.
You can invite anyone to gift investments with a tap of a finger.
Having the account online makes it so easy.
You’re in control
Pick an investment theme, choose a risk level that works for you.
Monitor their goals progress and top-up when you want.
In this relationship, you wear the pants.
Build memories alongside their money
Take a snap. Write a message.
And create a lasting memory with every contribution.
Ready to hand over when your little one is all grown up.
Or mostly grown up.
Unsure which account is right for you?
We can help.
Unsure which account is right for you? We can help.
From Junior ISAs to Junior SIPPs. Learn about the different options available to you and all the factors you should think about before making any decisions.
This guide is intended to offer you financial education by showing you the available options in today’s market. It’s not personal financial advice on what suits your circumstances best. If you’re looking for that, you should seek advice from a qualified financial adviser.
With investing, your capital is at risk.
The tax treatment of your investment will depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.
Peace of mind with Prosper
We’re transparent
No hidden fees. No complicated pricing.
We charge a flat “platform fee” of 0.50% to manage your investments. There’s then an additional 0.20%-0.29%, depending on what investments you pick (paid to BlackRock and/or Vanguard).
That’s an annual fee of around £7.90 if you invest £1,000 with us.
We’re protected
Up to £85,000 of your money is covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) should WealthKernel (our Principal Firm) become insolvent.
We’re parents
We like to keep things in the family.
We’re an app built by parents for families. So, we understand your niggles and your ambitions when it comes to your little ones.
And we understand just how priceless peace of mind is.
Happy days.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Junior ISA "JISA" is a tax-free way to save or invest for children. It's a long term savings and investment account that gives you a tax advantage. Money invested in a Junior ISA is locked up and can only be accessed once the child turns 18. At this point, they get full access to it.
The tax-free nature means that you don’t need to pay any income tax (on interest you earn from savings), dividends tax (on any dividends you receive from stocks & shares) and capital gains tax (on any profit you make) on your investments. For more information check out this post in our guide.
Junior ISAs are designed to help you save a lump sum for your child's future.
Note: Prosper only offers Junior stocks & shares ISAs and not Junior cash ISAs. Exact tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to changes in your situation, or the tax rules, in the future.
A Junior ISA is for parents or legal guardians looking to invest tax-free in their child’s name and comfortable locking the money till they turn 18. Because of these features, it could be used for:
- University fees
- First home deposits
- Gap year funds
- A handy lump sum to hand over to your child when they turn 18
Junior ISAs are available to any child who is:
- Under the age of 18
- A UK resident, or is a dependant of a crown employee (e.g. army employee based overseas)
Our Junior ISA is a Stocks & Shares Junior ISA. That means your money is invested into the stock market. So it doesn’t pay a fixed rate of interest and the value of the investments can go up or down.
Prosper does not offer a Junior Cash ISA, which gives you savings interest based on a published interest rate. This means that in addition to your Prosper Junior Stocks and shares ISA, you're still able to open a Junior Cash ISA elsewhere.
With Prosper, anyone can contribute to this allowance - not just those with parental responsibility. Each Junior ISA comes with its own unique link that Grandparents, Godparents, Aunts, Uncles or anyone else can use to add money directly to your kid’s investment account.
They can make one off payments or set up regular contributions.
Each child can have one Junior ISA of each type at any point in time. That’s one Junior Stocks & Shares ISA and one Cash ISA. It’s worth noting that this rule is a little bit different to adult ISA which says you can have multiple Adult Stocks & Shares ISAs providing you only contribute to one each tax year.
If your child has any existing child trust funds in their name, they can't also have a Junior ISA. If you do want to open a Junior ISA for them, the full balance of any child trust fund has to be transferred into it first.
This tax year, the limit’s £9,000 for saving into Junior ISAs. This can be split across a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA, so you might put £3k in one, and £6k in the other. If you don’t hit this Junior ISA allowance, you can’t carry any of it over to the next tax year. Use it or lose it.
The tax rules change from time to time, which means that limit may go up in the future.
Yes, you can transfer funds from any existing Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund to Prosper. Just download the app and select a Junior ISA. When we ask you if you already have one elsewhere just tap yes and we’ll send you a transfer form to complete at the end of the process.
Because you can only have one Junior Stocks & Shares ISA at any one time, we only support full balance transfers from a child's Junior ISA or from Child Trust Funds. And don’t worry, there are no transfer fees.
When the big birthday arrives, their Junior ISA account automatically becomes the adult version. Adult ISAs are also tax free savings and investment accounts.
Your not-so-little one is now free to do what they like - keep investing or withdraw it as a cash lump sum.