💰 Family finances · #26
Is a monthly salary subject to zakat? How is it paid?
In Malaysia, the state religious councils make zakat on income obligatory once a year's income reaches the nisab, at a rate of two and a half per cent.
The basis is the command to give from the good things one has earned (al-Baqarah 2:267) and to take zakat from wealth to cleanse and purify its owner (at-Taubah 9:103). Some earlier scholars did not treat salary as a separate category of zakatable wealth, but the view applied by state zakat centres today is that it is obligatory. The calculation usually allows deductions for the basic needs of oneself and one's dependants such as maintenance, EPF contributions and certain expenses; the exact method differs between states. The simplest way is a monthly salary deduction through one's employer or online payment to the state zakat centre. Zakat paid also qualifies for an income tax rebate. Use the calculator on your state zakat centre's website. See Zakat & welfare.
The basis is the command to give from the good things one has earned (al-Baqarah 2:267) and to take zakat from wealth to cleanse and purify its owner (at-Taubah 9:103). Some earlier scholars did not treat salary as a separate category of zakatable wealth, but the view applied by state zakat centres today is that it is obligatory. The calculation usually allows deductions for the basic needs of oneself and one's dependants such as maintenance, EPF contributions and certain expenses; the exact method differs between states. The simplest way is a monthly salary deduction through one's employer or online payment to the state zakat centre. Zakat paid also qualifies for an income tax rebate. Use the calculator on your state zakat centre's website. See Zakat & welfare.
Sources
Surah al-Baqarah 2:267Surah at-Taubah 9:103State Administration of Islamic Law Enactments