Cash ISAs for US citizens
You can usually open a cash ISA as a US citizen; whether it is worth it is the harder question. The wrapper is tax-free to HMRC and fully taxable to the IRS.
A cash ISA is a savings account that shelters interest from UK tax. Providers that take US persons will open one, so eligibility is rarely the obstacle. The problem is that the shelter is one-sided.
The US does not recognise the ISA wrapper. To the IRS a cash ISA is an ordinary foreign account, and the interest is taxable on your US return in the year it is earned, ISA or not. You keep the UK tax break and lose nothing by holding it, but you do not get the tax-free outcome a UK saver enjoys.
For a cash ISA the damage stops at taxable interest. A stocks and shares ISA is where it gets worse, because the funds inside are usually PFICs. See how the US taxes your UK ISA before you decide.
Who accepts US citizens
Last checked 9 August 2026| Provider | Verdict | What to know | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kent Reliance | Opens | Kent Reliance, an OSB Group sibling of Charter, opens a cash ISA to anyone resident in the UK for tax purposes, the standard test, with no US-person exclusion on the form. Where it opens, the IRS still taxes the interest as US income. | 9 August 2026 |
| Nationwide | Opens | Nationwide opens a cash ISA to anyone resident in the UK for tax purposes; its ISA terms name no US-person or FATCA exclusion. Where it opens, the IRS still taxes the interest as US income. | 9 August 2026 |
| Barclays | With strings | Barclays opens a cash ISA to a US person but requires your US taxpayer identification number, usually a Social Security number, under FATCA. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief. | 9 August 2026 |
| Charter Savings Bank | With strings | Charter opens a cash ISA to any UK resident aged 18 or over; its FATCA form has a US person self-certify their US citizenship and give a taxpayer identification number rather than turning them away. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief. | 9 August 2026 |
| Paragon Bank | With strings | Paragon opens a cash ISA to a UK-resident US person, but its terms require you to confirm your US-person status on the application. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief. | 9 August 2026 |
| Chase UK | Skip | Chase UK offers no cash ISA to anyone, so there is none for a US person to open; on its savings accounts it may instead ask a US person for extra information. This is product absence, not a US-person bar. | 9 August 2026 |
| Chip | Skip | Chip requires you to pay tax only in the UK, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US person. The wrapper gives a US person no relief anyway, since the IRS taxes the interest as ordinary income. | 9 August 2026 |
| Marcus by Goldman Sachs | Skip | Marcus screens out anyone with US tax links, so it will not open a cash ISA for a US person. The IRS would tax the interest as US income regardless. | 9 August 2026 |
| Moneybox | Skip | Moneybox states applicants must not be a US person, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US citizen or dual citizen. The IRS does not recognise the wrapper, taxing the interest as US income. | 9 August 2026 |
| Shawbrook Bank | Skip | Shawbrook's ISA eligibility requires you to be liable to pay tax only in the UK, which excludes a US person with US tax obligations. The wrapper would give no US relief in any case. | 9 August 2026 |
| Trading 212 | Skip | Trading 212 opens no accounts for US persons, so its cash ISA is closed to you unless you can show you have renounced US citizenship. The IRS taxes the interest as US income in any case. | 9 August 2026 |
| Zopa | Skip | Zopa requires sole UK tax residency and says applicants must not be a US citizen, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US person. The wrapper gives no US relief regardless. | 9 August 2026 |
Provider by provider
Kent Reliance
OpensKent Reliance, an OSB Group sibling of Charter, opens a cash ISA to anyone resident in the UK for tax purposes, the standard test, with no US-person exclusion on the form. Where it opens, the IRS still taxes the interest as US income.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
If momo earns a commission when you open an account with Kent Reliance, it is disclosed here. Partner links are not active yet, so this slot earns nothing and changes no verdict.
Link inactiveNationwide
OpensNationwide opens a cash ISA to anyone resident in the UK for tax purposes; its ISA terms name no US-person or FATCA exclusion. Where it opens, the IRS still taxes the interest as US income.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
If momo earns a commission when you open an account with Nationwide, it is disclosed here. Partner links are not active yet, so this slot earns nothing and changes no verdict.
Link inactiveBarclays
With stringsBarclays opens a cash ISA to a US person but requires your US taxpayer identification number, usually a Social Security number, under FATCA. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
If momo earns a commission when you open an account with Barclays, it is disclosed here. Partner links are not active yet, so this slot earns nothing and changes no verdict.
Link inactiveCharter Savings Bank
With stringsCharter opens a cash ISA to any UK resident aged 18 or over; its FATCA form has a US person self-certify their US citizenship and give a taxpayer identification number rather than turning them away. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
If momo earns a commission when you open an account with Charter Savings Bank, it is disclosed here. Partner links are not active yet, so this slot earns nothing and changes no verdict.
Link inactiveParagon Bank
With stringsParagon opens a cash ISA to a UK-resident US person, but its terms require you to confirm your US-person status on the application. The IRS still taxes the interest as US income, as the wrapper gives no US relief.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
If momo earns a commission when you open an account with Paragon Bank, it is disclosed here. Partner links are not active yet, so this slot earns nothing and changes no verdict.
Link inactiveChase UK
SkipChase UK offers no cash ISA to anyone, so there is none for a US person to open; on its savings accounts it may instead ask a US person for extra information. This is product absence, not a US-person bar.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Chip
SkipChip requires you to pay tax only in the UK, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US person. The wrapper gives a US person no relief anyway, since the IRS taxes the interest as ordinary income.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
SkipMarcus screens out anyone with US tax links, so it will not open a cash ISA for a US person. The IRS would tax the interest as US income regardless.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Moneybox
SkipMoneybox states applicants must not be a US person, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US citizen or dual citizen. The IRS does not recognise the wrapper, taxing the interest as US income.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Shawbrook Bank
SkipShawbrook's ISA eligibility requires you to be liable to pay tax only in the UK, which excludes a US person with US tax obligations. The wrapper would give no US relief in any case.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Trading 212
SkipTrading 212 opens no accounts for US persons, so its cash ISA is closed to you unless you can show you have renounced US citizenship. The IRS taxes the interest as US income in any case.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Zopa
SkipZopa requires sole UK tax residency and says applicants must not be a US citizen, so it will not open its cash ISA for a US person. The wrapper gives no US relief regardless.
Source on file; last checked 9 August 2026.
Why this is the rule
ISA US tax
The IRS does not recognise the ISA wrapper. Cash ISA interest and stocks ISA gains are taxable on your US return, and fund holdings drag in PFIC rules.
TaxFATCA
FATCA makes UK banks report accounts held by US persons to the IRS. It is not a tax; it is a reporting trail. Where it bites is access.