Additional Permitted Subscription ISAs

Any ISA held by someone who has died remains tax-free for up to three years while the executor organises the estate. No new money can be added but existing investments made will continue to grow tax-free until it is closed. 

An APS is an extra tax-free ISA allowance available to the spouse or civil partner of someone who has died. The allowance is equal to the total value of the ISA assets held by the deceased. 

An APS allows a surviving partner to receive an additional one-off ISA allowance based on the value of their late spouse’s ISAs, in addition to their own annual ISA allowance. 

Even if the deceased leaves the money in their ISA to someone else: 

• The surviving partner is still entitled to an increased allowance. 

• This allowance is equal to the total value of the ISA assets held by the deceased.  

• The surviving partner will receive this extra allowance for three years from the date the other partner died. 

• You must use your APS allowance within three years after the date that your partner passed away, or 180 days after the completion of the estate administration (whichever is later). 

• You were married or in a civil partnership at the time of your late spouse’s death. 

• The deceased and the surviving spouse or civil partner were living together, at the date of death. If you or your spouse or civil partner were separated through care, you remain eligible for the APS. They must not have been separated:  

• Under a court order 

• Under a deed of separation 

• In circumstances where the marriage or civil partnership had broken down. 

No, it’s not possible for the executor of a will to open an APS ISA unless they are also the surviving spouse or civil partner.  

Yes. The allowance can either be:  

• The value of the accounts at date of death (known as APS1) or 

• The value of accounts at the point they ceased to be a continuing ISA account. This could be when the accounts are closed, or the three-year anniversary of their death has been reached (known as APS2). 

A Suffolk Building Society APS ISA can be used for an ISA held with the Society or with another provider. 

An APS ISA does not transfer the deceased person’s ISA. Instead, it gives you (the surviving spouse or civil partner) an extra ISA allowance equal to the value of the deceased’s ISA, which you can use with the same provider or a different one. 

You can claim a different APS allowance with each ISA provider. If the deceased held multiple ISAs with that provider, the value will be combined to give you their APS allowance with that provider.  

• It must be used within three years of the spouse’s or civil partner’s death. 

• Or 180 days after the completion of the estate administration (whichever is later).  

Once you subscribe to your APS allowance, any further deposits must be made with the same ISA manager. Any unused portion would be lost once the time limit has been reached. 

Once you made a deposit towards your allowance, you cannot ask the provider for a new APS value, even if that’s higher.  

However, if you are yet to make any deposits, you can ask your provider to recalculate your allowance. This might be where the balance was higher on closure. 

Yes, speak to your stocks and shares provider who will confirm the value of the allowance with us.  

You can apply for an APS ISA in branch or by post. 

An APS ISA is an extra tax-free ISA allowance. It allows the surviving spouse or civil partner to inherit the ISA allowance of their partner who has died. 

No. You can be either a new or existing member. If you are a new customer, we’ll need proof of your identity to open an account. For existing members, we may request identification if your records with us are incomplete. We may also need documents such as a marriage certificate or death certificate. This is because APS ISAs are available to open only by the surviving spouse or civil partner.  

You don’t need a separate APS ISA for each ISA the deceased had. You can also use one single APS ISA for your accumulated allowance with both Suffolk Building Society and other ISA providers. 

The minimum balance for an APS ISA is £10. Although the APS is based on the value of the deceased’s ISA, you do not inherit their ISA funds. Instead, you receive an extra ISA allowance and must pay in at least £10 of your own money to open the APS ISA. 

You can combine your APS allowance into one APS account. Once you’ve begun subscribing you can transfer those funds as previous years subscriptions to any type of ISA. 

No, you don’t need probate to apply for an APS ISA. The Society’s threshold for requiring probate is £25,000 across all accounts held by the deceased. 

If the executor is able to close the deceased’s ISAs, this should be done before you (as the spouse or civil partner) claims your APS allowance, as this can increase the allowance value. Once the ISAs are closed, you can apply for an APS ISA and the allowance can be transferred. 

Once you have completed the application form and provided the relevant documents, the account can be opened. 

At a later date, you may choose to move your funds in your APS ISA to another provider. The Suffolk Building Society APS ISA is instant access, so there is no withdrawal restriction. Once we receive a request to transfer your funds, we’ll process the request with five working days. 

As the surviving spouse or civil partner, you initiate the transfer if you choose to move your subscribed funds to a different provider later. You tell your new provider that you want to use your APS allowance to subscribe and the funds are currently held elsewhere.  

No, providing an APS ISA isn’t mandatory and not all providers do. 

Our APS ISA is a flexible way to combine your allowance into one balance. This balance counts as current year’s subscriptions. You can transfer to a higher rate paying ISA instantly if you wish.