Most grandparents who are able to contribute to a Junior ISA (JISA) aren’t doing it for one child. Some grandparents could be paying into two, three, or more and across different families, i.e. their son or daughters-in-law. The practical challenge then for a grandparent isn’t ‘can I contribute to my grandchild’s Junior ISA’; more often it will be ‘how can I do this equitably, properly and tax-efficiently for all of them’. We’ve written this guide to help grandparents understand exactly how to do this. 

You’re dealing with multiple “registered contacts”, not one. 

The key challenge for a grandparent with multiple grandchildren will be that they are dealing with more than one ‘registered contact’ or, in other words, the person who controls the Junior ISA until they reach adulthood. The registered contact could be their child, their child’s spouse or even someone they have less contact with, i.e. a guardian. This could leave a grandparent with three grandchildren dealing with three separate account holders, and each could, in theory, have their own login and payment processes. 

The mechanics of paying into accounts you don’t control, multiplied. 

The practical challenge of paying into multiple JISA’s for a grandparent with more than one child is obvious. There’s quite a lot to manage. The simplest way to account for multiple grandchildren could be to set up a standing order but, depending on the provider, this may not be an option. Some providers require a direct debit (like here at the children’s ISA) to be set up via the registered contact (generally the parent of the child or your child or your son/daughter-in law). Keeping a simple record of who and when you have paid on a spreadsheet could be an effective solution to keeping on top of this administrative headache.

The £9,000 limit is per child, not shared across your grandchildren

Each grandchild has their own £9,000 annual allowance, shared between everyone who contributes to their Junior ISA, including parents, other grandparents and relatives. Contributing to three grandchildren means three separate limits to keep track of, each affected by what everyone else is also paying in, so it’s worth checking with the family what’s already been contributed before adding your own gift.

How much can a grandparent give away tax-free? The £3,000 and £250 allowances explained

As a grandparent, you have your own tax-free gifting allowance each year, separate from anything to do with the Junior ISA itself. This is about your estate, not the Junior ISA accounts.

The main tax-free exemption a grandparent has is £3,000 a year. This allowance belongs to you, not to each of your grandchildren individually, so if you have three grandchildren and want to split your full allowance between them, that works out at £1,000 each, not £3,000 each.

Alongside this, there’s a smaller allowance of £250, and this one works differently: it’s per person, not a shared pot. You can give £250 to as many people as you like each year, completely tax-free. The only catch is you can’t use both allowances on the same person in the same year, so a grandchild who’s already had a share of your £3,000 can’t also receive the £250, though any grandchild who hasn’t touched the £3,000 can still receive the full £250.

If you don’t use the full £3,000 in a given year, you can carry the unused portion forward, but only into the following tax year, and only for one year. After that, it’s lost.

The seven-year rule, and why it matters more with several grandchildren

Any gift that goes beyond your £3,000 and £250 allowances isn’t taxed there and then. Instead, it becomes what’s known as a potentially exempt transfer, a gift that falls outside your estate for inheritance tax purposes, but only once seven years have passed.

If you’re still here seven years after making the gift, it falls fully outside your estate. If not, it may be counted back in, though the tax charged reduces the longer you survived, tapering down over the six years after the first three. This is why it’s worth being aware of the seven-year rule if you’re gifting above your allowances, and why keeping a simple log of who you’ve given to and when goes beyond good practice; it’s what keeps the process fair across multiple grandchildren and gives you a clear picture if it’s ever needed.

A worked example 

Here’s how this could work for a grandparent (let’s call her Margaret) and her three grandchildren Alfie, Charlie and Beth: 

Create a simple system to stay organised

A grandparent could create, on a spreadsheet, or even a piece of paper, a short practical checklist. Then this could be reviewed at the start of each tax year to reset exemptions and, also, potentially a gift log for IHT purposes. 

FAQs

Do I need to tell HMRC about gifts I make to my grandchildren?
Not at the time, but gifts made in the seven years before your death are taken into account when your estate is assessed for inheritance tax, so keeping your own record as you go pays off later.

Can I give more than £9,000 in a year to one grandchild’s Junior ISA?
No, the £9,000 limit applies to the account itself, from everyone contributing combined, not to you individually.

Do the £3,000 and £250 exemptions reset every tax year?
Yes, both renew each year, though only the £3,000 annual exemption can be carried forward, and only for one extra year.

Can I set up a standing order into a grandchild’s Junior ISA myself?
Not directly, since the account is controlled by the registered contact, so you’ll usually need to arrange it through them or use a gifting link their provider offers.

If you have any more questions, we have created our grandparents hub. 

This article explains how the current rules work in general terms; it isn’t personal advice for your own circumstances. Everyone’s situation is different, so it’s worth speaking to an FCA-regulated financial adviser or checking the latest guidance on gov.uk before making decisions based on your own gifting or estate. Figures are correct for the 2026/27 tax year and may change.