Weekly Salary
Question :

I know that when a person receives income then he has to pay one-fifth of it after expenses for the year. However, if I receive a weekly salary and I pay the khums from it every week, have I paid the obligatory khums for the year?

Answer :

If one pays khums every week from his weekly salary, then he does not have to pay khums at end of the khums year. If he did not do so, as he is permitted to delay the payment of khums until the end of the khums year, then he can pay the khums from the remainder of his earnings after the payment of the yearly expenses.

Unemployed
Question :

I am currently unemployed and looking for work. Is khums obligatory on me to pay? Who do I pay it to?

Answer :

Khums is obligatory once a year. It is on what exceeds the expenses during the year. One should refer to an agent of the marji', and determine a fixed yearly time to pay khums after calculating it.

Calculations of Khums
Question :

I work and I do not know how to pay the khums out of my money. I get £300 every week; do I pay khums every week, every month, or after I pay my expenses?

Answer :

It is obligatory on every duty-bound individual to determine a khums fiscal year and calculate the remaining money after covering his expenses and pay the fifth of the remainder.

Business on Credit
Question :

I have started my business last year on credit basis and by the grace of Allah I have completed one year of business this year. So please tell me how I should calculate khums from business earnings even if I still have debts to clear.

Answer :

With the assumption that you paid khums on the capital money before you used it for the business, at the end of the khums year the debts and all other paid expenses for that year are deducted from the profits, and khums is due on the remaining balance. If the balance is zero or negative, no khums is due for that year.

Hajj and Khums
Question :

I work for a retail company in the West, and they pay my wages directly into my bank account. This money has never been withdrawn by me and has sat in my account since it was transferred. I do transfer a part of it into another savings account through the internet every month. After a year of transferring, but never withdrawing and holding the money physically, will this money be subject to Khums, and is Hajj obligatory on me if there is enough in the savings account to cover Hajj costs?

Answer :

If you work in a state establishment and your salary is transferred directly to a state-owned bank, then the laws of khums and Hajj do not apply on the salary. They both apply on amounts that you withdraw from the bank. Both conditions must be present (working for the state and the bank being owned by the state) in order for this ruling to apply.
If one of the two conditions are not fulfilled, like if you work for a private establishment or the amount is transferred to a private bank, or both of them are not present, the regular laws of Khums and Hajj apply. That is, if the amount adds up to what is sufficient to cover the cost of Hajj, it becomes obligatory. Likewise, Khums has to be paid from the unused portion of it at the end of the Khums year.

Khums on Prohibited Expenses
Question :

Is it obligatory to pay khums on what is spent on prohibited expenses, such as paying a barber to shave one's beard?

Answer :

Khums is not obligatory on expenses if they were spent in prohibited ways. However, a believer is expected not to perform any prohibited thing even if he thinks it is small, since it is a disobedience to Almighty Allah.

Khums Calculations
Question :

If I had $1000 at the end of a year after deducting expenses, and I paid khums leaving $800. During the following year, I spent $200 from the $800. By the end of the year, I saved an extra $400 after expenses. Must I pay khums on $200 or $400?

Answer :

Your net wealth is $1000, whereas $800 is the 80% of last year’s net income after khums was paid. This means that your net income for this year is $200 from which you have to pay khums ($40). Therefore, for the next year $960 will be exempted from khums ($800 from the previous year, plus $160 remaining from the current year).

Khums Calculations
Question :

If I have started employment and am earning my own income, how do I give khums? Do I give 20% of my salary each time it enters my bank account? Do I wait a year and then give 20% of what I have left?

Answer :

If the salary payments are deposited in an account in a private or government bank, then it is subject to khums. This also applies to a transfer of the salary payments to an account in a private bank.
If the salary payments are transferred into an account in a government bank, then it not considered owned until it is withdrawn physically and khums is not due before that.
It is obligatory to pay khums at the end of the khums year from what remains after any expenses paid.

Khums and Loan
Question :

I have taken some money as a loan from my father and I am using it for my business. Will I need to pay Khums on this?

Answer :

Khums is not obligatory on the loan, it is obligatory on the profits.

Paid Khums
Question :

Do I need to pay Khums on the money for which I have paid last year?

Answer :

It is not obligatory to pay Khums from monies that Khums was paid from in past years.

Khums
Question :

I own some items at home. Do I pay khums on them every year even if I have used them?

Answer :

If they were used, then it is not obligatory to pay khums for them. Otherwise, they are subject to khums once.

Khums on the Remainder
Question :

Regarding khums, suppose I purchase a box of 100 pens from a store. But I only use 20 of those pens in one year. Is there khums due on the remaining 80 pens? Or are they all considered to be "used" as soon as I open the original box from the store? I have a similar question about a notebook. Suppose I buy a notebook with 100 pages and only use 20 of those pages. Is there khums due on the unused paper in that notebook (80 pages) after one year from its purchase? Or is khums no longer due the moment I wrote in one page of the notebook?

Answer :

If what you need can only be obtained in a larger quantity, then khums is not applicable on what remains from that. For example, if you need a notebook of 20 pages, but you could not find a 20-page notebook, and the closest to it is a 100-page notebook, then the unused part of the notebook will not be subject to khums. Similarly, if you need 20 pens, and you can purchase 20 pens without needing to buy 100 pens, then the unused pens will be subject to khums.

Khums on Pention
Question :

I work as an employee in a Government office in India, and some amount from our monthly salary is paid towards a pension fund. This amount remains in their custody and at the disposal of the Government. When the employee retires, the money with interest will be paid back to him. If the employee at some point during his service requires some money from his pension fund, it is paid to him with the condition that he pays it back within a specific timeframe. Now the question is if the employee, during his service period, withdraws some amount from his pension fund account, has he to pay the Khums of this amount immediately considering that it has been there for more than a year? What is the ruling on the amount which he redeposits into this account?

Answer :

Khums does not apply to the portion that the government deducts from the salary of the individual. Khums is applicable on withdrawn amounts at the khums year-end, not immediately. Khums is also applicable on the amount that is redeposited, and is payable when the Khums year ends.

Joint Account
Question :

My wife and I are both working. We have a joint current account into which both our salaries are deposited. At the end of the year, a sum remains in the balance. All our expenses are met from this account, and there is no discrimination as to whose money is being utilized. How do we calculate khums that is due?

Answer :

You can calculate the khums of the amount in the bank account by calculating 20% of the remaining balance.

Khums Calculations
Question :

I have recently bought a house. I also have a fixed deposit, plus a sum of US dollars and some gold.
Kindly let me know how to calculate khums I have to pay, if this is the total wealth?

Answer :

If you did not live in the house until after the end of the khums year, then the khums is the fifth of the house’s value. If you lived in the house before the end of the khums year, then the house is not a subject to khums. You should pay khums from your savings and the unused gold.

Savings
Question :

I opened a savings account in the bank in my name. This is a family savings account which everyone in my family will contribute to and put money in until it accumulates. Seeing as it is not only my money but belongs to the family, who is it that will have to pay the khums for this?

Answer :

It is obligatory to pay the khums from your own money, not from the money of other people. If the money is mixed with the money of others, it does not affect this obligation, so it is better for each person to keep account of his share.

Khums on Books
Question :

Is there any Khums payable on books given to me by someone as a gift if it stays in my personal library for a period of a year?

Answer :

If you needed them or made use of them even for a short period of time, then khums is not due on them.

Minimum Balance
Question :

My bank has given me the option of free transactions if I maintain a balance of $1500 all the time. Do I have to pay khums on this amount at the end of the khums fiscal year?

Answer :

Khums is payable if the amount was deposited into the account and maintained for one full year.

Business Purposes
Question :

Is there any khums on the money which is deposited into accounts for business purposes?

Answer :

The said money is an income, and it is therefore liable for khums at the year-end in the usual manner, if khums has not already been paid from it.

Mixed Income
Question :

Somebody had income from lawful and unlawful sources, like he took interest from the believers. He has stopped doing this now and started practicing the religion. What is his obligation in respect to this money now, considering that he does not know how much he took from who?

Answer :

If he does not know who he took the interest from, and he cannot determine which part of his wealth is lawful and which part is unlawful, then he should pay the khums from the mixed amount.