Zakāt and children: does a minor's wealth count?

Parents often ask whether their children's savings, gifts, or inheritance are subject to zakāt. It's a question where the schools of thought genuinely differ, so the honest answer is: it depends on which view you follow. Here is the landscape, with the reminder to confirm your own situation with a scholar.

Why there's a difference

The disagreement comes from how scholars understand what zakāt fundamentally is. One view treats it as a financial right that the poor hold over qualifying wealth, attached to the money itself, regardless of who owns it. The other view treats zakāt primarily as an act of worship, which requires the worshipper to have reached adulthood and legal responsibility. Those two starting points lead to different conclusions about a child's wealth.

The majority view

The Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools generally hold that a minor's wealth IS subject to zakāt if it exceeds the niṣāb and a full lunar year passes. Because the child cannot manage this themselves, the guardian calculates and pays it from the child's wealth on their behalf. Under this view, a child's substantial savings account or inherited sum would be treated much like an adult's.

The Ḥanafī view

The Ḥanafī school generally holds that zakāt al-mal is not obligatory on a minor's wealth, since the obligation of worship attaches at adulthood. A notable exception some Ḥanafī scholars make is for a child's trade goods. Under this view, a child's ordinary savings would typically not be zakatable until they reach maturity.

A note on Zakāt al-Fitr

Separately from the above, Zakāt al-Fitr, the small charity given before Eid al-Fitr, is widely held to be due on behalf of every member of the household, including children. So even where a child's wealth isn't subject to zakāt al-mal, the head of household typically still pays zakāt al-fitr for them. These are two different obligations.

What this means for you

If your child holds savings, gifts, or an inheritance above the niṣāb, whether you owe zakāt on it depends on the view you follow. This isn't a question to settle from an app. Follow the school you identify with, or ask a scholar you trust. If Zakāt is due, add your child to your Family Circle and the calculator will work out the amount for you.