What are the current Leeds Building Society Cash ISA rates?

What are the current Leeds Building Society Cash ISA rates?

Leeds Building Society currently has seven Cash ISAs to choose from, with rates ranging from 2.30% AER (variable) to 4.60% (variable) AER. Some accounts are fixed-rate Cash ISAs, so you will agree for your money to be locked away for a set time period. Others are easy-access accounts but with much lower interest rates or have minimum deposit requirements.

• 1 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA: 4.30% (fixed) AER tax-free fixed for up to one year. You'll need at least £100 to open the ISA, and if your balance falls below £100, the rate of interest will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. Your interest will be calculated daily, but it won’t be paid until your ISA’s maturity date, and if you make any withdrawals during the fixed period you’ll lose 90 days’ interest. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society. 
• 2 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA: 4.15% (fixed) AER tax-free fixed for up to two years. You'll need at least £100 to open the ISA, and if your balance falls below £100, the rate of interest will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. Your interest will be calculated daily, but it won’t be paid until your ISA’s maturity date, and if you make any withdrawals during the fixed period you’ll lose 180 days’ interest. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society. 
• 3 Year Fixed Rate Cash ISA: 3.90% (fixed) AER tax-free fixed for up to three years. You'll need at least £100 to open the ISA, and if your balance falls below £100, the rate of interest will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. Your interest will be calculated daily but paid annually on the 4th October (starting from the 4th October 2025) and ending on maturity (4th October 2027), and if you make any withdrawals during the fixed period you’ll lose 240 days’ interest. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society. 
• Limited Issue Online Access ISA: 4.60% (variable) AER tax-free. You’ll need to deposit at least £1,000 to open the ISA, and if your balance drops below £1,000, the rate of interest will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. You can make unlimited withdrawals without penalty, but you can only manage your account online. Your interest will be calculated daily, but paid annually on the 30th September (starting from the 30th September 2025) and ending on maturity (30th October 2026). To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society. 
• Six Access ISA: 3.95% (variable) AER tax-free. You’ll need to deposit at least £1,000 to open the ISA, and if your balance drops below £1,000, the rate of interest will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. You can make up to 6 withdrawals per calendar year, but you’ll need to open the account in-branch or by post rather than online. Your interest will be calculated daily but paid annually on the 28th February. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society.
• ISA Saver: 2.30% (variable)  AER tax-free. You can open the ISA with £1. If your balance falls below £1, the rate of interest will drop to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. You can make unlimited withdrawals. You’ll need to open the account in-branch or by post, so this ISA won’t be suitable if you’d like to open it online. Your interest will be calculated daily, but paid annually on the 5th April. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be aged 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society. 
• E-ISA: 2.30% (variable) AER tax-free. You can open the ISA with £1 and make unlimited withdrawals. If your balance falls below £1, the rate of interest will drop to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable. Your interest will be calculated daily, but paid annually on the 31st October. To be eligible, you’ll need to be a UK resident, be aged 18 or over, or be aged 16 or 17 (as of the 6th April 2024) and have an existing Cash ISA account with Leeds Building Society.

Source: https://www.leedsbuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/cash-isas. Current Leeds Building Society Cash ISA rates are accurate as of August 2024.

What is Leeds Building Society’s best ISA rate?

Leeds Building Society’s best cash ISA rate is 4.60% AER, which you can get by opening a Limited Issue Online Access Cash ISA. The interest rate is variable, meaning it could rise and fall over time. You’ll be able to manage your money online and make as many withdrawals as you like, but you need to deposit £1,000 to open this account and if your balance drops below £1,000, your interest rate will fall to 0.05% tax-free p.a/AER variable.

Thankfully, you should be able to find a more competitive and flexible alternative with a different provider. 

Take a look at our guide to the best Cash ISAs on the market for more information.

Is Leeds a good ISA provider?

Leeds Building Society’s Cash ISA interest rates are competitive, but its best Cash ISAs are reserved for savers who’ll either lock their money away for a set period or keep at least £1,000 in their ISA at all times. 

Leeds Building Society is just one of hundreds of ISA providers, so it’s a good idea to compare a few different options before choosing one for you. You might be tempted to open a Cash ISA with one of the big high street banks (particularly if you have a current account with one already), but you can usually get a better rate from a smaller provider.

Learn more:Should I get an ISA?

Can I have two ISAs with Leeds?

You can only open and pay into one Leeds Building Society Cash ISA each tax year, but you could open a second Cash ISA with a different provider and pay into both during the same tax year. If you’ve got a Cash ISA already but you’ve found a better interest rate elsewhere, another option is to transfer your ISA to a new provider. This may make it easier to manage your tax-free savings, as everything will be in one place. 

Take a look at our guide on having more than one Cash ISA to learn more. 

If you’re aged 18 to 39 and you’re saving a deposit for your first home, you could get the keys to your own place even sooner with the help of a Lifetime ISA (LISA). Save up to £4,000 of your total ISA allowance in a Lifetime ISA each year and the government will boost your savings with a 25% bonus, up to £1,000 each tax year. So, if you max out your LISA for 5 years in a row, you’ll have a £25,000 deposit towards your first home — even more if you choose a LISA with a competitive interest rate. 

Leeds Building Society doesn’t offer Lifetime ISAs, but we do! With the Tembo Cash Lifetime ISA, not only will you get the 25% government bonus, you’ll also benefit from our market-leading 4.3% AER interest rate (variable).

There are a few things you need to know before opening a LISA. For example, if you make a withdrawal for anything other than your first home or retirement, you’ll be hit by a 25% withdrawal penalty. This could leave you with less than you put in. Take a look at our guide to the Lifetime ISA withdrawal penalty to learn more about how this works. 

Learn more: How much should I have in savings?

Will Leeds increase ISA rates?

Leeds Building Society could increase its ISA rates, but it could lower them instead. There’s no way of knowing exactly what will happen to interest rates in future, but banks, building societies and other ISA providers tend to change their interest rates based on changes to the Bank of England’s base rate.

If you already have a fixed rate Cash ISA with Leeds Building Society, your interest rate will stay the same for the remainder of your fixed term, even if the building society does make changes to its ISA rates.

Learn more: Cash ISA or Lifetime ISA. Which one should I pick?

How to find the best Cash ISA Rates

There are dozens of Cash ISA providers to choose from and some of the best ISAs can be opened and managed via an app, rather than through a branch. The interest rate is important (especially during periods of high inflation), but it’s wise to compare other factors too, such as:

• Customer service quality
• How easily you can access your money
• Customer bonuses or rewards 

At Tembo, our award-winning savings app has helped thousands of savers over the last few years. It’s no wonder we’ve been rated Excellent on Trustpilot!

Take a look at our guide to the best Cash ISA rates for a handy breakdown of the most competitive accounts. 

How to transfer my Leeds ISA to another provider

To transfer your Leeds Building Society ISA, simply open a Cash ISA with your chosen provider and ask them to complete the switch for you. Whatever you do, don’t try to make the transfer yourself, as this can impact your savings’ tax-free status and this year’s ISA allowance! 

For example, let’s imagine you’ve saved £20,000 in a Cash ISA over a number of years and you’d like to transfer your savings to a new provider. Try to move the money yourself and you’ll use up your full £20,000 ISA allowance for this tax year, even though your contributions were originally made during previous tax years. You’ll need to wait until the following tax year to make any more ISA contributions. Until then, you’ll need to keep your cash in a traditional savings account, where your savings interest will be taxable.