- EN (English)
| Fatwa ID: | 76492 |
| Title: | Zakat on a 403(b) account |
| Category: | Poor-due or obligatory charity (Zakaah) |
| Scholar: | Dr. Main Khalid Al-Qudah |
| Date: | 09/22/2008 |
I have been working with my current employer for about eight years. Every year, I contribute 10% of my salary into a 403(b) account and my employer matches it with 10%. The money is invested in one or more fidelity mutual funds of my choosing. There is currently about $150k in the account. I cannot withdraw this money without penalty until I reach 60 years of age. My question is: how do I calculate and pay zakat on this money? In particular:
a. Is the zakat due on the whole amount?
b. Is the zakat due on my contributions?
c. Is the zakat due on the contributed amount less taxes and penalty?
I also have a mortgage on my primary residence with an Islamic money lending group. I currently owe about 90k on the mortgage. How do I factor this debt into zakat calculations? I may add that I had initially paid zakat on the contributed amount for a couple of years, but I have not been able to do so in the past five years.
Your Zakah on any pension plan should be calculated based on the following formula:
Amount accessible - prescribed penalty - prescribed tax = Zakatable amount
As for the mortgage payment or any other debt you incur, only the debts due on the Zakah due date are to be deducted from the net Zakatable amount mentioned above, along with your and your family's due expenses.
