Published: 09/06/2009

We're only two months into the current tax year, yet some of the banks and building societies are already watering down the interest rates on their tax free savings accounts and in some cases are withdrawing them altogether.

During the last week, moneynet researchers have found that Barclays have cut 1% off their once table topping Golden ISA, Halifax have pulled their popular 3% fixed rate ISA from the shelves and First Direct have replaced their 3.06% ISA with a new account paying a much lower rate.

It's not just the big banks that are withdrawing their ISAs from the market; smaller building societies including National Counties, Skipton, Buckinghamshire and Principality have also closed their products for new business during the last seven days.

There are still some good ISA accounts to be found, but based upon the activity mentioned above, it is probably a wise move to open your ISA for the 2009/10 tax year as soon as you can, whilst there are still some reasonable rates on offer.

Whether you're looking for a variable rate ISA or prefer a fixed rate account, if you enter your requirements on the moneynet ISA search, we'll quickly show you the accounts that meet your requirements.

If you've already found a home for your £3,600 tax free savings allowance, don't forget that from next April the allowance goes up to £5,100. However if you're over 50 years of age you can invest the additional £1,500 allowance from this October - so it might be an idea to make a note in your diary if that applies to you.

Once you've used your tax free savings entitlement, it's still important to ensure that you are still getting the best rate of return on the remainder of your nest egg. If it's a fixed rate savings account that you're looking for, ICICI Bank UK is offering a range of top paying fixed interest rate deals as high as 4.40%.

Alternatively you can search for a savings account that meets your own specified criteria in a jiffy via the moneynet savings search, where we'll scour the savings market to show you the details of the best rates on offer.

If you're a more experienced investor or would like to find out more information about non cash based investments, we have teamed up with some of the most well known investment experts in the UK to offer you a choice of free brochures on ISAs and Savings Plans.

So whether you're just starting to build your first savings pot or are an experienced investor with a portfolio of savings accounts, it's essential that you keep an eye on the rates and deals that are changing ever more frequently in these uncertain times.

Don't worry if you don't have the chance to check the latest deals on our website on a regular basis, we'll make sure you're kept up to speed with any key rate changes and product updates via future editions of this weekly newsletter.

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