Help to Buy (H2B) ISAs give first-time buyers the opportunity to save a deposit for a property, earn tax-free interest and receive a boost to their own coffers from the Treasury.

For every £200 saved into your H2B ISA, the government will top it up by an extra £50. The maximum each account holder can save is £12,000, meaning the government can add up to £3,000 to your savings pot. See YourMoney.com’s complete guide to Help to Buy ISAs.

H2B ISAs officially launched on 1 December 2015 and since then, a number of providers have added them to their product offerings. Some 11,000 properties have been bought under the scheme and more than 650,000 accounts have been opened.

However, they have not escaped the flurry of interest rate cuts seen since the Bank of England base rate reduction in August. Both Halifax and Santander, which originally offered 4% interest, now offer 2% and 1.5% respectively (2% for Santander 123 customers).

How does Yorkshire Building Society’s H2B ISA compare?

The Yorkshire Building Society’s H2B ISA is available to open in branch, in Norwich & Peterborough branches and online via the Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies.

In terms of interest rates, it sits comfortably among the second tier of providers offering the H2B ISA:

H2B ISA rates currently available:

• Barclays 2.27%
• Nationwide B S 2.00%
• Halifax 2.00%
• HSBC 2.00%
• Virgin Money 2.00%
• Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank 2.00%
• Yorkshire B S 2.00%
• Natwest 2.00%
• Aldermore 1.75%
• Santander 1.50% (2.00% for 123 customers)
• Lloyds 1.50%
• Bank of Scotland 1.50%
• Newcastle BS 1.25%

Andrew Hagger of MoneyComms said it’s good to see another provider offering H2B ISA: “Yorkshire BS is the second largest building society in the UK and a very competitive mortgage lender so it makes perfect sense for it to enter this space.”

Louise Halliwell, senior product manager at the Yorkshire, said: “We know how hard it can be to get that first foot on the property ladder, and we understand how important homeownership is to people. Research we conducted showed that owning a home was a key priority for 25 to 40 year olds, and more important than getting married, having children or achieving career aims.

“We’re committed to helping people to achieve their dream of owning a home, and we hope our Help to Buy: ISA will provide first-time buyers with a simple way to save whilst receiving a competitive rate of interest on their savings.”