It’s your last chance to start a Help To Buy ISA as deadlines close TOMORROW

The Help To Buy ISA, a government scheme that offers a 25 per cent bonus to help people get on the properly ladder, is officially closing tomorrow on the 30th November 2019.

If you want to open an account, you can do it today with just £1, but hurry because banks are already closing their Help To Buy ISA accounts.

What is a Help To Buy ISA?

It's a tax-free savings account which means you keep more of what you earn in interest.

It's backed by the government, so your savings will be topped up by 25 per cent to help you buy your first home. So for example, if you save £2,000, it will match another £500 on top of it.

The maximum the government will boost your savings by 25 per cent is £3,000. So you would have to put £12,000 into the account.

You can open a Help To Buy ISA with the following banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money.

How do I open a Help to Buy ISA asap?

You only need one pound to open a Help To Buy ISA. And you won't have to pay any more fees if you wish to withdraw your money later.

You can open the account with just £1, but you can put any amount up to £1,200 into it.

Then you can then set up to pay into it every month, with a maximum value of £200. The monthly standing order can be any amount you choose. Or you can just not pay anything. It's up to you.

Which is the best bank to set up a Help to Buy ISA with?

Most banks will have the option to buy the Help to Buy ISA. Best rates are as following.

– Barclays – 2.58 per cent AER variable

– NatWest – 2.5 per cent AER variable

– Nationwide – 2.5 per cent AER variable (can apply online even if you're a new customer)

– Virgin Money 2.5 per cent AER variable (can apply online even if you're a new customer)

– HSBC 2.25 per cent AER variable

– Halifax 2.25 per cent AER variable

– Lloyds 1.5 per cent AER variable

But wait there's a thing called LISA, should I not be investing in that instead?

Yes there's also the LISA, which is the Lifetime ISA. Essentially the LISA allows you to deposit more money into the account. You can put in up to £4,000 a year. However, you can only withdraw the money after a year and if you choose not to use the money to buy your first house, you would have to pay a 25 per cent penalty on that. If you're not sure what you want to do with the money right now, you're better off opening an ISA.

For more information about the LISA and the ISA, click here.

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