Wa`alykum As-Salaamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, we would like to thank you for showing keenness on learning the teachings of Islam, and we appreciate the great confidence you have in us. We hope our efforts meet your expectations.
With regard to your question, Dr. Monzer Kahf, a prominent Muslim economist and counselor, answers:
“According to the majority's opinion, Zakah is only paid on the net mobile assets. It is calculated as follows (in brief because we are not going to take complicated case of assets): cash + bank accounts + inventory of ready to sell goods + goods in process + raw materials to manufacture goods in process + receivables - short term accounts payable = amount subject to Zakah.
Zakah is due annually on lunar year basis, at the end of a lunar year that begins from the day you got Nisab, and at the rate of 2.5% of the amount subject to Zakah. If it is difficult for you to calculate the amount on a lunar calendar, you may use a solar one, i.e., the Gregorian that we use in the US, and multiply the amount by 2.5% X 365/354 which is 2.577%. Also if you have to calculate Zakah for a part of a year so you can make your Zakah year conform with your accounting year you may calculate the Zakah for part of the year on the same basis, i.e., 2.5% X number of day/354.
For your second part of the question, Nisab is the value of 2.99 ounces of gold on the day Zakah is due. You may take approximately as only ONE THOUSAND US$ for this year. To be Zakatable, you have to at least own Nisab at a point of time and then own that much at least a full lunar year from that point.
You do not include in the Nisab any money you appropriate for immediate expenses or payment of debt. An example clarifies this: a person who gets his/her income (US$ 2000) monthly and had $1,000 dollars in the bank on Ramadan 1, 1420, and $900 on Ramadan 1, 1421, and the salary received on Sha`ban 29, 1421 is all needed to spend during the month of Ramadan until next pay is received. This person is not subject to Zakah.”
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