Early birds catch the worm
As with the old adage 'the early bird catches the worm', ISA customers are being advised to open their accounts as early as possible, to maximise the interest received on their money.
If Brits choose to open an ISA early, not only can they take advantage of a few extra months of tax-free saving but they can also receive bonus rates, says a new report by first direct.
An ISA, or Individual Savings Account, allows a consumer to save away up to £3,00 per year tax-free.
'Using your annual ISA allowance should be a no-brainer for most taxpayers, given the large savings,' said Richard Kimber, first direct’s chief executive.
More than 29 million Brits are saving their money, but only 16 per cent of these savers are doing it tax-efficiently, by taking out an ISA.
The majority of the population chooses to use deposit accounts to save instead.
First direct has launched the new issue of its e-ISA , which has a market-leading rate of 5.50 per cent (AER) until February 15th 2006.
Mr Kimber added: 'The return on our tax-free e-ISA is the equivalent to getting 5.64 per cent (AER) for a basic rate taxpayer, and a staggering 9.56 per cent (AER) for a higher rate taxpayer. So shift your savings up a gear and turbo charge your mini cash ISA.' | 
