Do children have to pay zakat?
It depends on the school. The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say zakat is due on a child's own wealth, like savings or a trust fund, once it reaches the nisab, and the parent or guardian pays it from the child's money. The Hanafi school says zakat isn't due on a child's wealth until they reach adulthood. Zakat al-fitr is a separate charity paid for every child.
The majority view
Most scholars see zakat as a right of the poor attached to wealth itself, not only a personal act of worship. So if a child owns money above the nisab for a year, zakat is due on it. The guardian:
- calculates it on the child's zakat date,
- pays it from the child's own money, not as a gift from the parent's wealth (though they can if they choose),
- makes the intention on the child's behalf.
This view is reported from Companions like Umar and Aisha, and many scholars consider it the more cautious choice.
The Hanafi view
Abu Hanifa held that zakat, like prayer, is an act of worship required only of adults. So a child's savings aren't zakatable until they reach puberty, and their zakat year starts then. Families who follow the Hanafi school, common among South Asian and Turkish Muslims, often go by this view. See Do I have to follow a madhab after becoming Muslim?
Zakat al-fitr for kids
Every school agrees that zakat al-fitr, the small charity at the end of Ramadan, is paid for children. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ made it due on every Muslim, "young or old" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503). Parents pay it for their children from their own money. See What is zakat al-fitr?
Practical tips
- Whose money is it? Money in the child's name that legally belongs to them counts as theirs. Savings a parent keeps "for the kids" in the parent's own account are the parent's, so they count in the parent's zakat.
- Locked accounts: for child trust funds or junior accounts the child can't access, scholars apply the same reasoning as for locked pensions. See Do I pay zakat on my 401(k) or pension?
- Teach them: let older kids help calculate. It's a great way to raise generous adults.
- Majority: zakat is due on a child's own wealth.
- Hanafi: not due until adulthood.
- Guardians pay it from the child's money.
- Zakat al-fitr is paid for every child.
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