Are My Savings for the House Zakatable?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I have been paying my zakat yearly. My zakat was due on the Jumada al-Thani (late December 2022). I have not paid it yet as I was pregnant and unable to settle the zakat. I am now calculating it from 3rd Jumada al-Thani 1443 to 3rd Jumada al-Thani 1444. I have about 300,000 worth of savings. 200,000 of it I have set aside for buying a house. We are currently pursuing the purchase of the house, and I will be spending 200,000.

From the total amount on Jumada al-Thani 1444, as I calculate my entire savings, can I minus the 200,000 before calculating the zakat? In other words, is 200,000 considered an immediate expense? I also spent 5000 on my birth. Can I minus that from the total amount on Jumada al-Thani 1444?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Zakat will have to be paid at the rate of 2.5% on your total savings money of 300,00. This will be included in your zakatable assets when you calculate on the 3rd Jumada al-Thani 1444.

The 200,00 is not considered an immediate expense as you have it in your possession on your zakatable anniversary date. However, you may minus the 5000 spent on your child’s birth as your expense for the year. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; ‘Ala’uddin Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

Enquire about the Nisab value from your local ulama body or the links below.

Related:

• Zakat: How to Calculate & Whom to Give
• Zakat: A Comprehensive SeekersGuidance Reader
• SeekersGuidance Zakat Calculator
• Zakâh Calculator | WellWishers [for Pounds, Dollars, Euros, etc.]

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?

I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.