Zakat on Inherited Money, Gold and Property

After a death the family has two questions in quick succession: how to divide what was left (the shares of Surah an-Nisa 4:11-12), and what each heir now owes in zakat. The first is answered by the wirasat calculator, which gives each heir’s share of cash, land and gold. This guide answers the second, and the zakat calculator does the arithmetic once you know your share.

First: the deceased’s own zakat

If the person who died had not paid zakat for some years, the schools differ on whether it is taken from the estate before division. In the Hanafi school it is paid only if they left a will for it, from up to one third; in the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools it is a debt to Allah paid from the estate before inheritance, will or no will. The details, and how to estimate missed years, are in missed zakat for past years. Missed fasts work in a similar way; see fidya for a deceased person.

When does your zakat year start?

• If you already own the nisab (Hanafi): inherited cash, gold, silver and trade goods join your existing zakat year, just like a salary or a gift, and are counted on your next zakat date even if they arrived the week before. This is the Hanafi rule of joining acquired wealth to the nisab you own (see hawl and your zakat date).
• If you already own the nisab (Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali): wealth that comes from outside, including an inheritance, starts its own lunar year (“no zakat is due on wealth until a year passes over it”, Abu Dawud 1573). Many people simply pay on everything on their usual zakat date; Shafi’i and Hanbali scholars allow that as paying early.
• If the inheritance is what brings you to the nisab: your zakat year starts then, and your first zakat is due one lunar year later. The zakat date calculator works out that date and sets a reminder.

When the estate takes years to divide

Ownership passes to the heirs at the moment of death, but in many families the estate stays undivided for months or years, in a joint account or in one brother’s hands. Whether each heir owes zakat for that time, and from when, depends on how much control they had over their share. Scholars differ on wealth that an owner could not reach, so if your share was held back from you, ask a scholar of your school. Where an heir knows their share and can take it whenever they ask, many scholars treat it as their own wealth for zakat from the start.

Inherited gold and jewellery

Gold and silver are zakatable however they were acquired. Inherited jewellery follows the jewellery rule of your school: in the Hanafi madhab and for Ahl-e-Hadith zakat is due on it even if worn; in the Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali madhabs jewellery that is worn is exempt, but jewellery kept in a locker as savings is not. See zakat on jewellery. The zakat on gold calculator values it by weight and karat at today’s rate, and zakat on 1 tola of gold shows the quick figure.

Inherited land and houses

• A house you live in, or land you farm or rent out: no zakat on its value. Rent you save joins your cash, and crops from farmland carry ushr (10% or 5%) at harvest.
• Land you plan to sell: in the Hanafi school inherited land does not become trade goods just because you intend to sell it, since you did not acquire it by a purchase for trade. Zakat is due on the money once it is sold and joins your wealth. If you sell and later buy another plot to resell, that plot is trade goods.
• A share in a family business: your share of its stock, cash and receivables is zakatable as trade goods; the business zakat calculator handles it.

Inherited savings certificates and bank accounts

Inherited bank balances, National Savings certificates and prize bonds count at their value like your own. In Pakistan the bank may deduct zakat on 1 Ramadan from an account in the deceased’s name or yours; subtract what was deducted so you do not pay twice. See zakat on savings certificates and bank zakat deduction.

Shia Ja’fari fiqh

In Ayatollah Sistani’s rulings inheritance received in the normal way is not subject to khums, and zakat applies to coined gold and silver, not to paper money or jewellery. See the khums calculator and who must pay khums.

What to do now

1. Find your share in the wirasat calculator.
2. Add it to your own savings and gold in the zakat calculator, choosing your madhab.
3. Note your zakat date. If you are a woman who inherited jewellery, check the nisab carefully: a few tola of gold can bring you to it.

Frequently asked questions