ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû

Regulations to allow holding of fractional shares in ISAs

HMRC’s Tax-free Savings Newsletter 13 (September 2024) confirms that regulations are expected ‘in coming months’ which will enable certain fractional shares to be held in an Individual Savings Account. This policy was first announced at Autumn Statement 2023 by the previous Conservative Government, and consultation had been conducted with industry.

Where any fractional shares are not eligible under the new regulations, ISA managers will be required to remove them from affected ISAs. HMRC will enforce compliance strictly where an ISA does not comply with the regulations, ‘including considering the removal of ISA manager status, where necessary’.

HMRC had previously set out its view that fractional shares could not be held in an ISA, on grounds that a fraction of a share is not a share (reg 7 of the ISA Regulations, SI 1998/1870 provides that qualifying shares are ‘whole shares and not