Your lifetime ISA will receive a 25% government bonus on the payments you make into it. The total maximum bonus you can receive each tax year is £1,000 – that’s 25% of the lifetime ISA allowance of £4,000.

You don’t need to do anything to claim your bonus – Dodl will always sort this for you. Your bonus will be paid into your lifetime ISA 4–10 weeks after you make a payment, depending on the date of your payment. Here’s how it works:

On the 6th of every month Dodl will check your lifetime ISA for any payments you made into it in the previous month. If you've made any payments, Dodl will apply to HMRC to claim your 25% bonus on the total you've paid in.

HMRC will then send your bonus to Dodl, which you’ll receive as cash directly into your lifetime ISA (💡 if you've enabled Dodl push notifications, you'll get one to let you know it's arrived). From your bonus being claimed through to having it land in your account usually takes around 4 weeks in total.

So if you make a payment to your lifetime ISA on the 5th of the month, you’ll get in just in time for the 6th and receive your bonus around 4 weeks later. But if you make a payment on the 7th of the month, it’ll be nearly a month before the next bonus claim is sent to HMRC, then another month before you receive it.

☝ This timeline is worth bearing in mind when you’re getting close to buying your first home.