Using a deceased partner’s ISA allowance
If you’ve lost your spouse or civil partner, you may be eligible for an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS). — an extra ISA allowance based on the value of their ISAs when they passed away. This means you could add more money to your own ISA without affecting your standard annual ISA limit — helping you keep more of your savings tax-free at a difficult time.
What is an APS ISA?
APS stands for Additional Permitted Subscription. It gives you a one-off, extra ISA allowance (on top of your annual allowance) based on the value of your spouse or civil partner’s ISA at the time of their death.
This doesn’t mean you take over their ISA account. Instead, it allows you to subscribe (i.e. add money) up to the amount they had in their ISA(s), using a dedicated APS ISA in your own name.
Example: If your partner had £35,000 in their ISA, you’d be given an APS allowance of £35,000. This is in addition to your own standard annual ISA allowance.
At Tandem, we’ll open a separate APS Instant Access Cash ISA to hold your APS subscriptions. You must first have a standard Tandem Instant Access Cash ISA in your name to receive an APS ISA.
How it works
Important things to know
- 3 years of your spouse or civil partner’s death, or
- 180 days after the estate has been fully administered — whichever is later.
Got a question?
We’ve got answers! Explore our most common savings questions, or head to our full FAQ page to find more.
Yes, it earns interest at the same variable rate as our standard Instant Access Cash ISA. You can check the current rate in the app or on our website. If there is a bonus top-up rate available, your APS ISA will benefit from that too.
No, the APS allowance is completely separate from your standard annual ISA allowance. You still keep your full allowance for the current tax year. Read more about the annual ISA allowance here.
Yes. If your partner’s ISA was with another provider, you can apply to use your APS allowance at Tandem. Just contact our Customer Support team to get started.
Not at the moment. APS subscriptions at Tandem are held in our APS Instant Access Cash ISA only.
No – and don’t have to use it all at once. You can make multiple payments into your APS ISA, as long as they stay within your allowance and are made within the time limits:
- 3 years of your spouse or civil partner’s death, or
- 180 days after the estate has been fully administered — whichever is later.
Yes, APS ISAs at Tandem are flexible. You can withdraw funds and pay them back in later, as long as it’s still within your APS allowance and within the time limits.
Yes, both our Instant Access and Fixed Rate Cash ISAs are flexible. That means you can withdraw and replace money in the same tax year without eating into your allowance. For example, if you deposit £20,000 but withdraw £5,000, you can still replace that £5,000 within the same tax year without exceeding your £20,000 limit.
Instant Access: withdraw and replace freely.
Fixed Rate: you can withdraw, but an early withdrawal penalty applies.
No – all interest earned in your ISA is completely tax-free and doesn’t use up your allowance.
Yes. You can now subscribe to more than one ISA of the same type in the same tax year (since April 2024). Just make sure your combined contributions don’t go over the annual £20,000 limit.
You can save up to £20,000 each tax year across all your ISAs (not just with Tandem). The overall amount a customer can hold across their Cash ISAs is £250,000.
Need help?
We understand this can be a difficult time. If you’re ready to start the process, or have any questions, please reach out to our Customer Support team. We're here to guide you every step of the way.
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