Savings accounts are used to build up savings, either as a lump sum deposit or as a way of saving on a regular basis. The difference between a savings account and a current account is that savings accounts tend to pay a rate of interest which helps top up the money within the account.

Most people over the age of 16 can open a savings account themselves. However, with some youth products, like our Young Saver account, we do require a parent/guardian to open the account. 

Each product is different, so please review the terms and conditions of the product you are looking to open for further detail. For ISAs, you need to be over the age of 18 to open excluding the Junior Cash ISA. 

Whether you want to save a little or a lot, we have a range of savings accounts to compare most accounts allow you start saving from £1.

If you’re unsure on how to get started with your savings journey, read our guide. 

You can open most of our accounts online. Each product has its own conditions, so please check the product summary box for how to apply.

There are various ways to open a savings account with us, but each product has different conditions, so please review the product summary boxes for further details.

Typically, we require proof of identity and proof of address. To check you have the right documents visit our helpful information page to find out what you need to open an account.

An ISA (Individual Savings Account) can be a tax efficient way to save or invest. Unlike other savings accounts you don’t pay tax on money held in an ISA, regardless of your balance or how much income tax you pay. Tax free means the interest paid will be free from UK Income Tax. The tax advantages depend on your individual circumstances, and the tax treatment of your ISA may change in the future. Want to know more about ISAs?  Read our ISA Guide.

Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change.

Save the Pennies is a simple way to save by rounding up every debit card payment you make to the nearest pound. Those pennies go straight into your Savings Pot (or any other eligible savings account) and start to become pounds. Save the Pennies makes saving so easy, you'll forget you're even doing it.

More about Save the Pennies.

If you're a basic rate taxpayer, you can earn up to £1,000 tax-free with the Personal Savings Allowance. If you are a higher rate taxpayer have a limit of £500, you will typically pay tax on the interest earned, unless it is an ISA as ISAs are tax free. Interest is paid Gross (without taking off tax). Knowing how taxes affect the interest you earn on your savings is important. It's also helpful to learn about tax-free limits and accounts that can protect and grow your money.

Since 6 April 2016, you have a Personal Savings Allowance, which means your interest is paid gross (without tax being deducted). This allowance is the amount of interest you can earn each year across all non-ISA savings accounts—covering interest from all banks and building societies, not just your TSB savings accounts.

The Personal Savings Allowance is £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers, while additional rate taxpayers do not receive an allowance. If you earn more interest than your Personal Savings Allowance, you may have to pay tax on the excess.

For more information about tax-free savings allowances and how to apply them, visit the GOV.UK guideance.

The Bank of England sets the Base Rate, the rate it charges banks and reviews it regularly, so it can rise or fall. How this affects you depends on your account type: fixed rate savings stay the same, while variable rate savings may change. We regularly review variable rates and consider the Base Rate among other factors. If a Base Rate change leads us to adjust your variable savings rate, and it’s a decrease, we’ll tell you before it happens.

If you’re a TSB Mobile Banking App user, you can close your account via the app following this guide.

You can also visit us in branch, bring along your ID and proof of address or use the Online Account Closure form. You’ll need photo ID and mobile phone to verify your identity when using the online form.

We use Docusign for this kind of request. Docusign will pass the information you provide to us in a secure manner and won’t process it in any other way. Information on how we use your data can be found in our Data Privacy Notice.

If you’re looking to add or remove someone from your savings account, you’ll both need to visit us in branch or book a video banking appointment and provide proof of identity and address.

It’s not always possible to add another person to your savings account—for example, ISAs can only be held in one person’s name.

Some savings accounts have limits, depending on the specific product. For further details, we suggest you review the individual summary boxes for each product.

No, savings accounts are not credit scored in the same way as other finance products, you can have multiple savings accounts across multiple providers without affecting your credit score.

The Annual Equivalent Rate (AER) shows what the interest would be if the interest was paid and added to the account once each year. It lets you compare savings accounts easily. Gross rate means that credit interest is paid without income tax being deducted. Tax-free is the contractual rate of interest payable where interest is exempt from income tax. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change.