A significant proportion of investors maximised their tax-efficient savings allowances during the 2025/26 tax year, with new figures from AJ Bell showing that 28% of its DIY investors paid the full £20,000 into their stocks and shares ISA.

The data also revealed that 61% of lifetime ISA (LISA) holders contributed the maximum £4,000 allowance, while 21% of parents fully funded their children’s junior ISAs (JISAs) with the £9,000 annual limit. Among higher earners using self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), 8% contributed the full £60,000 annual allowance.

The trend has continued into the current tax year, with almost a third (32.6%) of ISA subscriptions made between 6 April and 30 April 2026 reaching the maximum £20,000 contribution.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “Investors pushed their limits to the max in the last tax year, protecting as much of their money as possible from tax as the tax hikes continued. In the current tax year, early birds were particularly keen to fill their boots as soon as possible.”

Coles said consistently making full ISA contributions could have a major long-term impact on wealth accumulation, noting that an investor contributing the full annual allowance and achieving a 5% annual return after charges could build a portfolio worth more than £1m in less than 26 years.

She added: “There are significant benefits to starting as early as possible in the tax year. If you hold investments outside an ISA, dividends and capital gains are taxable. By moving investments into ISAs at the start of the year, they’re protected from both these taxes immediately.”

AJ Bell said the figures reflect growing awareness of the value of tax-efficient investing, particularly as frozen income tax thresholds and reduced dividend allowances increase the tax burden on savers and investors.

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