Earning a tax-free second income in the stock market has never been easier for UK investors, thanks to the Stocks and Shares ISA.
With up to £20,000 to invest each year, individuals can quickly deploy a large lump sum of savings into the markets and start earning passive income overnight.
But for those with a bit of patience, this income stream can grow drastically over time. It could even unlock up to £2,240 in just five years. Here’s how.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Cash, analysis and patience
Becoming a successful income investor requires three key steps:
- Save up some starting capital.
- Analyse and identify quality dividend-paying stocks.
- Reinvest dividends to maximise income.
The second step is by far the hardest part of the process. But when executed successfully, it can lead to some stellar results for those with the foresight to catch favourable tailwinds. And perhaps a perfect recent example of this is Aviva (LSE:AV.).
With the government injecting enormous amounts of economic stimulus, the smart investors who predicted the inevitable wave of incoming inflation have reaped enormous benefits. And a lot of this smart money found its way into the financial sector, particularly insurance groups.
With inflation driving up interest rates, these businesses saw a huge surge in demand for annuities – a trend that still persists today. And subsequently, Aviva, among other insurance companies, have enjoyed an impressive earnings boost that paved the way for even higher dividends.
The result? Anyone who invested £20,000 in Aviva shares back in March 2021 is now yielding close to 11.2% – enough to generate roughly £2,240 on an initial cost basis. And for the investors who followed step three, this second income stream’s even bigger.
Finding income opportunities in 2026
Looking back, Aviva’s success seems like it was pretty obvious. But at the time, few investors spotted the opportunity, with most laser-focused on the popular US tech stocks.
This perfectly demonstrates that the best shares to buy are often the ones that most people aren’t paying attention to. And in 2026, Aviva seems to be back in that category.
With interest rate cuts from the Bank of England (BoE) making annuities less profitable, investors are seemingly moving their money into other sectors, most notably defence and energy.
At least, that’s what the latest Buy and Sell data from AJ Bell suggests. And with the war in Iran and the wider Middle East, it’s understandable why defence and energy stocks are becoming more popular. But Aviva might also secretly be a beneficiary of all this chaos.
Surging energy costs could force the BoE to pause its interest rate-cutting scheme. And depending on the severity of energy inflation, it might even have to reverse previous cuts. In such a scenario, the margins on annuities could once again expand, triggering another profit wave for the business.
Obviously, this isn’t a guaranteed scenario. And with significantly more competition within the annuities market today versus five years ago, Aviva may struggle to deliver the same earnings and dividend explosion as before.
Nevertheless, with a 5.4% yield on offer and impressive fundamentals, it’s a dividend stock I think investors seeking a chunky second income may want to investigate further.
