Q&A for How to Calculate Your Personal Zakat

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Question

How do I calculate my personal zakat if I am a widow with no children or home of my own?

Community Answer

I believe you would do it the same way shown here, only counting what you actually own. If you have no home, though, I believe that it's highly likely that you wouldn't owe zakat.

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Question

Can I subtract the mortgage amount on my residential property from the income?

Community Answer

Yes, but not the whole mortgage. For example, if you owe the bank $1,000,000, you wouldn't subtract the entire million; you would subtract what you owe that year (essentially the mortgage payments of that year). Some scholars debated about this issue but the this is the most common (and logical) fatwa. Although you owe the bank $1M, you don't plan to pay it back within a year (most likely over 30 years), so you can't be zakat-free for 30 years.

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Question

Do I have to pay Zakat if I owe money to people and have not paid yet?

Community Answer

No, first you have to pay what you owe to people. After that you can focus on paying Zakat.

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Question

I have rental property. If I calculate zakat on the value of the property, I don't have the cash to pay. Do I borrow money from the bank to pay or is there something else I can do?

Community Answer

If this is a rental property, meaning you don't plan to flip and sell it, for instance, you do not pay zakat on the value of the property, but you pay zakat on the rent you receive from the property. For instance, if your zakat day arrived and you had collected 4 months rent from a tenant, then you pay zakat on the sum of 4-month rent (as well as zaka on your other money).

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Question

Do I have to pay zakat on the same asset every year?

Community Answer

Yes. Zakat is on unused wealth/property of 1 year. If that luxury/property/wealth has remained in your possession and unused then it remains subject to zakat year after year.

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Question

How can I know how much cash I have in a bank?

Community Answer

Check your bank statements for all the accounts you have. These days each bank has a mobile app which can tell you your balance as well.

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Question

If I own a house and make it a rental, how do I calculate my zakat?

Community Answer

At that point the house would no longer be "unused wealth," so it wouldn't be Zakat-able anymore. However the income it generated that sits for a year would be.

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Question

How do I apply Zakat for rental property?

Community Answer

Determine your net equity in the property. This would mean that you take the market value (not the price you paid when you bought it, but how much similar properties are going for in the market, or if you were to list it for sale, how much you would list it for) and subtract the mortgage (if any) from that. That's your equity in the property, what you actually own. You should then apply your Zakat percentage to that. Allah knows best.

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Question

If a person is giving zakat for the second year, are net assets calculated by combining years one and two, or just year two's assets?

Community Answer

Every Hijri (lunar) year zakat will be mandatory for those who comes in the mentioned condition in islam. If you have nisab threshold then you have to calculate worth of all of your savings, jewellery and investments. The 2.5% of total worth is your zakat for that year.

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Question

If I owe someone should I first pay then pay Zakat?

Community Answer

If you owe someone money then that will be seen as a liability. You would subtract your liabilities from your assets to determine the amount that you have to pay zakat on.

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Question

Do I have to pay zakat on a bank deposit I made six months ago?

Community Answer

No. Just donate however much you want or feel the need to.

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Question

I have a property which does not have any income. Do I need to pay zakat for this property?

Community Answer

The property counts as one of your assets and doesn't matter if it earns money or not. If you have owned the property for more than a year, you have to pay zakaat according to the property's current market value.

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Question

How do I calculate Zakat for the money I have in the bank?

Community Answer

2.5% of the amount exceeds the nisab threshold is liable for Zakat. So if you have the money and that value is surplus to Nisab is liable for Zakat.

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Question

How much money do I need to have to pay Zakat?

Community Answer

As long as you have enough money to provide for yourself and for your family (if you have one), then you should pay Zakat.

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Question

How do I calculate my Zakat from my monthly salary?

Community Answer

Current monthly salary less monthly operating expenses (rent, electricity bill, food, school fees, etc.).

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Question

Do I have to pay a zakat if I do part-time work as a student?

Community Answer

Yes, if it's at least $235 US annually after expenses.

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Question

How is zakat payable for those involved in buying and selling of essential goods?

Community Answer

The amount of money you gain in selling is what you will use in paying zakat.

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