The quick answer is ‘no’. Once money goes into a Junior ISA, it belongs to your child. No one can withdraw it until they turn 18, including the child, the parent or guardian who opened the account, and anyone else who paid in. There are only two exceptions to this rule: if HMRC agrees that your child is terminally ill, or if your child dies.

That’s the short answer. The longer one is worth knowing, because many of the answers to this question we have found online tend to be incomplete or out of date. This guide covers who can withdraw and when, how the exceptions work, what happens if your child can’t manage the money at 18, and the truth about the Junior ISA “loophole” that so many parents are searching for.

Can parents withdraw money from a Junior ISA?

No. It’s one of the most common questions you will find asked online, and it usually comes from parents who assumed that opening the account meant controlling the money. With a Junior ISA, it doesn’t.

A Junior ISA is a tax-free savings or investment account for a child under 18 who lives in the UK. A parent or guardian opens it and manages it, and is known as the “registered contact”. Anyone can pay in, whether that’s parents, grandparents, family friends, or the child. Every payment counts as a gift to the child, and in law the money is theirs from the moment it lands in their account. 

In practice, this means:

• You can’t withdraw money for bills even if it’s an emergency.
• You can’t close the account and take the balance back.
• A grandparent or relative can’t reclaim money they’ve given.
• Your child can’t withdraw anything either, until they turn 18.

That’s how the account is meant to work. The lock-in keeps the money set aside for your child’s future, and it’s the trade-off for the tax benefits and, of course, the benefits of a long-term investment. For the 2026/27 tax year, up to £9,000 can be paid into a child’s Junior ISA, and all the investment growth is tax-free (up to the annual limit). 

Junior ISA withdrawal rules at a glance

Your child’s age decides what can and can’t happen with the account.

From birth to 15

A parent or guardian opens and manages the account. Anyone can pay in, up to the annual limit. Nobody can withdraw.

At 16

Your child can take over managing the account themselves. They can choose investments or move the account to a different provider, and they can open their own Junior ISA. They still can’t withdraw.

At 18

The Junior ISA becomes an adult ISA in your child’s name. From then on, the money is fully theirs. They can withdraw some or all of it, leave it to grow, or move it into another ISA. 

The money stays tax-free when the account becomes an adult ISA. It doesn’t use up any of your child’s adult ISA allowance, because it’s already inside the ISA wrapper.

Because the money is locked away until 18, a Junior ISA is built for long-term saving. Explore our Balanced fund

The exceptions: when money can come out before 18

The rules allow early access in only two situations, and both are very rare. There are also a few ways money can leave the account that don’t count as a withdrawal.

Terminal illness: the 12-month rule and how to claim

If your child is terminally ill, you can apply to take money out of their Junior ISA before they turn 18.

What counts as terminally ill? Since 6 April 2023, a child counts as terminally ill for Junior ISA purposes if they are expected to die within 12 months. Before that date, the test was six months. The rule was changed to match the definition used in the benefits system, and some websites still show the old six-month figure.

How the process works:

1. The registered contact (usually the parent who manages the account) makes a terminal illness claim to HMRC.
2. The claim needs medical evidence, usually from your child’s doctor or consultant.
3. If HMRC agrees with the claim, it writes to the registered contact to confirm.
4. You can then ask the Junior ISA provider to release some or all of the money.

If the whole balance is withdrawn, the account can then be closed. The same rules apply to Child Trust Funds.

If you’re in this situation, contact your provider first. They deal with these cases and can guide you through each step.

If a child dies

If a child dies, their Junior ISA closes. The money becomes part of the child’s estate and usually passes under the intestacy rules. Payments made after the date of death aren’t valid, and any interest or growth after that date is no longer tax-free. The provider will explain what they need from the family.

Money that moves without being withdrawn

There are a few everyday situations where money leaves a Junior ISA. None of them is a way to get the money out for yourself.

• Transfers. You can move a Junior ISA to another provider at any time, and a Child Trust Fund can be transferred into a Junior ISA. The money moves from one account to the other and stays locked.
• Paying in too much. If more than £9,000 goes into a child’s Junior ISAs in one tax year, the extra has to be returned. That corrects a mistake. It isn’t a way to access the money.
• Payments made in error. A payment that went to the wrong account can be reversed.
• Provider charges. Fees set out in the account terms are taken from the account.

Junior ISAs also can’t be “flexible” ISAs. With some adult ISAs, you can take money out and put it back in the same tax year without losing allowance. That option doesn’t exist for a Junior ISA. Remember, Junior ISA’s were created after Child Trust Funds (CTF’s) were retired, and the whole point of CTF’s (and Junior ISAs) was to provide a long-term investment vehicle for UK children. 

Thinking of moving your child’s Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund? Transfer now

Is there a Junior ISA loophole?

There’s no loophole that lets parents take money out early. When people search for a “Junior ISA loophole”, though, they usually mean one of four things, and the answers online don’t always keep them apart.

What people mean	The facts	Status in 2026/27
A way for parents to get money out early	There isn’t one. Early access is limited to terminal illness and death.	Doesn’t exist
16 and 17 year olds holding a Junior ISA and an adult cash ISA	Closed on 6 April 2024. Everyone it still covered has now turned 18.	Closed and expired
The “£36,000” Child Trust Fund timing trick	Lets some families pay more in over roughly 13 months. The money stays locked until 18.	Real, but only helps with paying in
Parents avoiding tax on money given to their child	Junior ISA income is tax-free, so the usual £100 rule doesn’t apply.	Part of how the account is designed

1. Getting money out early

There’s no hidden route. The only exceptions are terminal illness and death, as set out above. If you read that a Junior ISA can be unlocked early for any other reason, it’s wrong.

2. The 16-17 year old “double allowance”

This is the one most people have heard of. Until April 2024, 16-17-year-olds could open an adult cash ISA as well as their Junior ISA. That let them save up to £9,000 in the Junior ISA plus £20,000 in the cash ISA, a total of £29,000 a year tax-free.

The government closed this from 6 April 2024 by raising the minimum age for an adult cash ISA to 18. Young people who were already 16 or 17 on 5 April 2024 could keep using their cash ISA until they turned 18. The last of them turned 18 by April 2026, so the rule no longer helps anyone.

3. The “£36,000” Child Trust Fund timing trick

This one is real, but it’s about paying money in, not taking it out.

Child Trust Fund allowances run from one birthday to the next, while Junior ISA allowances run with the tax year (6 April to 5 April). A family whose child has a Child Trust Fund can pay £9,000 in just before the child’s birthday and another £9,000 just after. They can then transfer the fund into a Junior ISA and pay in the Junior ISA allowance for the current tax year and the next one. Done in that order, that can add up to £36,000 in about 13 months.

A few things to keep in mind:

• The money is still locked until your child turns 18.
• Only children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 have a Child Trust Fund. The youngest are now 15, so fewer families can use this each year.
• It only helps families who can afford to put in that much.

4. The parental £100 rule

Normally, if money a parent gives their child earns more than £100 a year in interest or income, the whole amount is taxed as the parent’s income. The rule is there to stop parents moving savings into their children’s names to cut their own tax bill.

Junior ISA income is tax-free, so the £100 rule doesn’t apply to it. Some people call that a loophole, but it’s simply one of the reasons Junior ISAs exist.

What if my child can’t manage the money at 18?

At 18, the money in a Junior ISA belongs to your child as an adult. But as adults, we know many children aren’t great at managing money at 18. If your child lacks the mental capacity to manage their own money, perhaps because of a learning disability, you can’t simply withdraw it or manage it for them, even as their parent. The provider needs instructions from someone who has the legal authority to act for them.

How you get that authority depends on where you live:

• England and Wales: under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, this usually means applying to the Court of Protection to become your child’s deputy for property and financial affairs.
• Scotland: the Access to Funds scheme, under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, can offer a simpler route.
• Northern Ireland: applications go through the Office of Care and Protection.

In 2020, the government waived Court of Protection application fees for families who need to apply only to access a Child Trust Fund. Court applications can take several months. Hence, it helps to start planning from around your child’s 16th birthday. The charity Contact has campaigned for a simpler process for smaller amounts, and the government has said it’s looking at the issue. Your provider can tell you exactly what they’ll need.

Junior ISA vs other children’s savings: who can withdraw?

If early access matters to your family, it helps to compare the options side by side.

Account type	Who can withdraw before 18?	Who controls it at 18?
Junior ISA (cash or stocks and shares)	Nobody, except after an agreed terminal illness claim or on death	The young person, fully
Child Trust Fund	Same as a Junior ISA	The young person
Children’s savings account (bank or building society)	Depends on the account terms. Often a parent, or the child once old enough	The child
Savings held in a parent’s own name	The parent, at any time	The parent. The money isn’t legally the child’s

Each option works differently, and the right one depends on what you’re saving or investing for. For impartial guidance, MoneyHelper is a good place to start. For personal advice, speak to a regulated financial adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Can I take money out of my child’s Junior ISA in an emergency?
No. Financial hardship, household bills and emergencies don’t count as reasons for early access. The only exceptions are a terminal illness claim agreed by HMRC, or the child’s death. If you might need access to savings in future, a Junior ISA is designed not to allow it.

Can a 16 year old withdraw from their Junior ISA?
No. At 16 your child can take over managing the account, including choosing investments and moving it to another provider, but they can’t withdraw anything until their 18th birthday.

Can I stop my child spending their Junior ISA at 18?
No. At 18 the account becomes an adult ISA in your child’s name and the money is legally theirs. Many families find it helps to talk about the money well before then, so your child has a plan by the time they’re in control.

Can I close my child’s Junior ISA and get the money back?
No. You can move it to another provider, but you can’t close it and take the balance. A Junior ISA only closes when the child turns 18, if the child dies, if the balance falls to zero, or if HMRC instructs the provider to close it.

What happens if I paid too much into a Junior ISA?
The annual limit is £9,000 across all of a child’s Junior ISAs. If more than that goes in during one tax year, the extra has to be returned. Contact your provider as soon as you notice.

Can grandparents take back money they gave to a Junior ISA?
No. Money paid into a Junior ISA becomes the child’s straight away, whoever paid it in. Grandparents can keep contributing, within the annual limit. [LINK: /news/2024/12/13/how-grandparents-can-contribute-to-junior-isas-in-2025/]

What are the downsides of a Junior ISA?
The two main ones are the lock-in until 18 and the fact that your child gets full control at 18, whatever their plans. Stocks and shares Junior ISAs also carry investment risk, so the value can go down as well as up.

A Junior ISA is designed to be left alone until your child turns 18. Parents can’t withdraw from it, and there’s no loophole that changes that. The only exceptions are terminal illness and death, and both have clear processes behind them. Every penny paid in stays set aside for your child’s future, and that’s the main reason families choose one.

Start saving for your child’s future. Compare our Defensive, Balanced, Adventurous and Shariah funds.