Maxed Your ISA? A UK Guide to General Investment Accounts
Your ISA is full and the next pound has nowhere to hide. The GIA exposes every gain to HMRC. There's one move each April that quietly drains it back inside the shelter.
How a GIA is taxed (2026/27)
| Tax | Allowance | Basic rate | Higher rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend tax | £500 | 8.75% | 33.75% |
| Capital gains | £3,000 | 18% | 24% |
| Savings interest | £1,000 / £500 | 20% | 40% |
Allowances slashed in recent years. ISA wraps all of this away tax-free.
Key takeaways
A General Investment Account (GIA) is an unwrapped brokerage account with no contribution limits but no tax shelter
Dividends are taxed once you exceed the £500 dividend allowance, and capital gains above £3,000 are taxed at 18% or 24%
Use a GIA only after you have maxed your ISA (£20,000) and made full use of pension contributions worth claiming
Bed-and-ISA each April lets you shift up to £20,000 of GIA holdings into the tax shelter, gradually emptying the GIA over time