The tax year ends on April 5, 2026

With just days to go until the end of the HMRC tax year, savers and investors have been warned to act quickly if they want to avoid losing a personal tax-free allowance. The last day for people to use their £20,000 tax-free ISA allowance is April 5, 2026, so whether they are planning to stash away cash in a savings or stocks and shares ISA, speed is imperative.

But if those investing are unsure as to where exactly they want to invest their money, which many will be in the current fraught geopolitical climate, one expert has said they can make use of a simple strategy to retain their annual allowance rather than have to decide now.

Nouran Moustafa, practice principal and independent financial adviser at Roxton Wealth, said: “For investors who make the most of their ISA allowance, this ISA season has been slightly more challenging than others. The war in the Middle East has created massive uncertainty and asset classes have moved very sharply on the back of a single Truth Social post from Donald Trump. Against this backdrop, we’re getting a lot of questions from investors about where they should invest and how to create a portfolio that can ride out the volatile conditions we’re now in.”

Nouran said the good news was that people didn’t need to make their investing decisions immediately.

She added: “Many investors are unaware of ‘bed and parking’, a strategy where they park their money in a stocks and shares ISA wrapper but keep it held as cash rather than immediately allocating it into a specific fund, say.”

Nouran said 'bed and parking' makes sense for people who want to secure the tax-free ISA allowance before the tax year ends but need a bit more time to allocate it properly, without feeling rushed.

She continued: “Bed and parking is useful as it enables investors to park cash inside the ISA temporarily rather than panic-buy a fund they do not understand. To me, that is discipline and not delay.”

Ultimately, Nouran said, people needed to focus more on the underlying investment than the tax-free ISA wrapper itself.

She said: “Yes, the wrapper is valuable, but what sits inside it needs proper thought. The mistake is thinking tax efficiency replaces investment strategy and it does not.”

Nouran added that people should use the wrapper properly and understand what they are doing rather than rush into the wrong investment just because the deadline is close: “Using your tax allowance is important but it should be part of a bigger plan, not a last-minute scramble. There’s no point in getting the wrapper right if you get what’s held inside it wrong.

“The most important question people should be asking is, what is this money actually for and what should it be doing? And if, as an investor, you’re unsure, speak to an independent financial adviser who will help you find the answer.”