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Martin's Budget ISA briefing! ALL-change & surprise NO-change for tax-free savings
SCRAPPED... the cut to the under-65s cash ISA limit 
IMPROVED... the Lifetime ISA for first-time buyers
NEW... First Time Buyer ISAs to replace LISAs 
POSSIBLE... starter shares ISA incentive
TAXED... savings interest outside ISAs to face higher tax rates

ISA, ISA, baby. Stop, collaborate and listen... So much of the planning, prepping and complaining about coming ISA changes, due April 2027, has now thankfully been consigned to history... the Chancellor, John Healey, ripped up a chunk of his predecessor Rachel Reeves' work on ISAs. There's a lot for me to get through, so let's do it... 

1. SCRAPPED. The cut in the cash ISA limit won't happen, it'll remain at £20,000. The planned cut to the annual cash ISA allowance for under-65s from £20,000 to £12,000 in April 2027 has been binned. So every UK adult will still be able to put up to £20,000 each tax year into ISAs (whether all in cash ISAs or all in shares ISAs or a mix) and the interest and growth won't be taxed. Plus, all the convoluted anti-avoidance plans to stop people trying to create cash ISAs via the back door have been scrapped too - so you'll still be able to transfer shares ISAs to cash ISAs, and the planned tax charge on cash held in shares ISAs has gone.

Remember, all a cash ISA really is - is a savings account that isn't taxable. And "not taxable" doesn't just mean there's no tax on the interest, it also means that the interest earned in a cash ISA doesn't count towards any of your other savings allowances.

• Today's top cash ISAs: Trading 212 pays 4.87%* (min £1, max £20k), it includes a 1yr 1.27% bonus for newbies putting new money in. For transferring existing ISA money in, Chip is 4.75% (min £1) including a 1yr 1.25% newbie bonus, though its withdrawal system means you effectively don't earn some interest in the month you close it. For more options, including fixed-rate cash ISAs, see our Top cash ISAs guide. 

PS If you have money you don't need right now and can put away for over five years, remember you're likely to be better off investing in a broad spread of investments, so do read my beginner's guide to investing - too many are missing out.

2. IMPROVED. The Lifetime ISA (LISA) penalty for buying a home over £450,000 has gone! We've campaigned for years for this injustice to end. Jeremy Hunt told me he'd look at it, as did Rachel Reeves, but to be fair, John Healey is the one who's actually delivered it. And it means for someone definitely buying a property, a LISA is now far less of a gamble.

LISAs can be opened by anyone age 18 to 39. You can then put up to £4,000/yr in one, and get a bonus of 25% (so max £1,000/yr) to use towards either buying a first-time property of £450,000 or less, or to save and withdraw once age 60+. Until now, withdrawing for any other reason brought a 25% penalty. The maths of a 25% bonus added, then a 25% penalty taken off, meant that people making these 'unauthorised' withdrawals got back 6.25% less than they put in (so on £10,000, it costs £625).

My issue has been that first-time buyers who saved in LISAs just as the state encouraged them to, but who then got priced out of the market - because the £450,000 maximum hasn't increased since the LISA's 2017 launch - were outrageously forced to pay the state what feels like a 6.25% fine to access their money in the way the state intended. 

But, since last Thursday, for those buying properties over £450,000, the penalty is reduced to 20%, so you get back what you put in, plus interest, you just don't get the bonus. See LISA withdrawal fine change news for more, plus Top Lifetime ISA best buys.

3. NEW. First Time Buyer ISAs to replace Lifetime ISAs from 6 April 2029. At that point LISAs will close to new applicants, but will still continue to work for those who have already opened them (listen to why ALL under-39s, even those who own a home, should have £1+ in a LISA, in my new Is a LISA still worth it for first-time buyers & those saving for retirement? mini-pod, which incorporates all the Budget changes).

The new FTB ISA won't have an upper age limit. The bonus (capped at £20,000) will be calculated on the account's final balance when you buy - including interest or investment growth - a big improvement on the original proposal, where the bonus would've only been paid on what you'd contributed. 

You can transfer a Help to Buy ISA into a FTB ISA but can't transfer LISAs in (aaargh too many ISAs!). Yet you will be able to get a first-time buyer's bonus on both a LISA and a FTB ISA, though you can't contribute to both in the same tax year. Watch my new First Time Buyer ISA v LISA - which wins? video clip or read our First Time Buyer ISA guide.

4. POSSIBLE. The Chancellor's looking at a 'Starter Investment ISA' incentive idea. It's early days, but in the Budget speech the Chancellor said he'll work with the investment industry to explore a new incentive. I suggested this to Rachel Reeves when she was positing a cut to the cash ISA limit 'not to raise revenue but to encourage young people to invest'. I think a carrot is better than a stick, and said the same to John Healey once he was in office. You can read exactly what I'm suggesting & why in Martin Lewis: Starter ISA incentive thoughts. Though if that's how it'll materialise is another question.

5. TAXED. Interest outside ISAs to face higher tax rates. The Budget included a tax rise on savings interest, meaning from April 2027, basic-rate taxpayers who pay tax on savings interest will pay 24% (currently 20%), higher-rate taxpayers 44% (now 40%) and additional-rate taxpayers 49% (now 45%). The same increase also applies to property income - in my TV show I asked the Chancellor whether that could mean rents rise (at 32mins 30secs).

While the savings interest tax rise is a hit, thankfully most savers still don't pay tax on interest (see my Most people don't use all four savings interest tax allowances quick video, which runs you through the main legit ways to avoid tax on interest).

a) Personal allowance: Most people can earn £12,570/yr tax-free from any source, earnings, interest, etc. See MSE tax calc.

b) Starting rate for savings: For those with low earnings but a decent whack of interest, which is more common for those who are retired, this lesser-known tax allowance means some can earn up to £18,570/yr tax free. See Starting rate for savings explained.

c) Personal savings allowance: Basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000/yr of interest outside of ISAs tax-free. At current top savings rates, that means over £20,000 saved tax-free. Higher-rate taxpayers get £500/yr, while additional-rate taxpayers don't get a PSA. See full how the personal savings allowance works help.

d) Cash ISAs: The £20,000 you can put in each tax-year in a cash ISA is on top of the above allowances. And once money is in one, it is tax-free year-after-year. Though if you've large amounts, it's worth considering investing some of it.

e) Premium Bonds: This is a tax-free form of savings, where the interest is based on a lottery. The current prize fund is 4.35%, but someone with typical luck will win less. While I'm no fan of PBs for many, they come into their own for those who'd otherwise pay tax on interest. You can put up to £50,000 in (total not per year). See Are Premium Bonds worth it?

f) Short-dated gilts can give equivalent of up to 8% savings returns: If you pay tax on savings interest, an alternative is a short-dated UK government bond, known as a gilt. While it isn't saving, done right, the risk profile can be pretty similar and because of favourable tax treatment, it can produce returns for those who pay tax on interest equivalent to an 8% savings account. I did a full Savers: Time to learn about gilts podcast last week (and we're working on an MSE guide).