Ruling 1769. Whenever a person acquires property by means of trade, craftsmanship, or any other form of earning – even if, for example, he performs the prayers (ṣalāh) and keeps the fasts (ṣawm) of a deceased person, and with the wages he receives from that he acquires some property – then, in the event that it exceeds his and his family’s living expenses for the year, he must pay khums – i.e. one-fifth – of it in accordance with the instructions that will be mentioned later.

Ruling 1770. If a person acquires property without earning it – for example, he is gifted something – then, with the exception of the cases mentioned in the next ruling, he must pay khums on it provided that it exceeds his living expenses for the year.

Ruling 1771. Khums is not liable on the dowry (mahr) that a wife receives, nor on the property that a husband receives in exchange for a khulʿ divorce,[1] nor on religious blood money (diyah) that one receives, whether that be blood money for a limb or for a life (i.e. for someone who has been killed). The same applies to the inheritance that one receives in accordance with those laws of inheritance that are considered valid. Therefore, if a Shia Muslim inherits property in another way, such as by taʿṣīb,[2] then the property is considered a gain and khums must be paid on it. Similarly, if a person inherits from an unexpected source that is neither from his father nor his son, then based on obligatory precaution (al‑iḥtiyāṭ al‑wājib), he must pay khums on the inheritance if it exceeds his living expenses for the year.

Ruling 1772.* If a person inherits some property and knows that the person from whom he inherited it did not pay khums on it, he must pay khums on it. Similarly, if the property itself is not liable for khums but the heir knows that the person he inherited it from owed some khums, he must pay khums on it from the deceased’s estate. However, in both cases, if the person from whom he inherited it did not believe in paying khums, or never paid it, and neither stipulated in his will that it be paid from his estate, then it is not necessary for the heir to pay the khums owed by the deceased.

Ruling 1773. If a person saves money on his living expenses for the year by being frugal, he must still pay khums on it.

Ruling 1774. If a person’s entire living expenses are paid by someone else, he must pay khums on his entire earnings.

Ruling 1775. If someone gives some property to particular persons – for example, he gives his children some property as a charitable endowment (waqf ) – in the event that the property is farmed or trees are planted on it, and something is earned from it, and the earnings exceed their living expenses for the year, then those persons must pay khums on the extra earnings. Similarly, if they profit from the property in some other way – for example, they give it on hire (ijārah) – they must pay khums on the amount that exceeds their living expenses for the year.

Ruling 1776. If the property that a poor person (faqīr) has received from obligatory charitable payments (ṣadaqah) – such as recompense (kaffārah) and radd al‑maẓālim[3] – or, if he has received it from recommended (mustaḥabb) ṣadaqah, and if the property exceeds his living expenses for the year or he acquires profit from it – for example, he acquires fruit from a tree that was given to him – and the profit exceeds his living expenses for the year, then based on obligatory precaution, he must pay khums on it. However, if he receives some property as khums or alms tax (zakat), being someone entitled (mustaḥiqq) to receive it, then it is not necessary for him to pay khums on the property itself; but if the profit that accrues from it exceeds his living expenses for the year, then the profit is liable for khums.

Ruling 1777. If a person purchases something with the actual money on which khums has not been paid, i.e. he tells the seller that he is purchasing the item with that money,[4] then, in the event that the seller is a Twelver (Ithnā ʿAsharī) Shia, the entire transaction (muʿāmalah) is valid (ṣaḥīḥ), and the item that has been purchased with the money is liable for khums; and there is no need to get authorisation or approval from a fully qualified jurist (al‑ḥākim al‑sharʿī).

Ruling 1778. If a person purchases something by undertaking to pay for the item later, and after the transaction he pays the seller money on which khums has not been paid,[5] the transaction is valid but he will be indebted to those entitled (mustaḥiqqūn) to receive khums for the khums on the money he paid the seller.

Ruling 1779. If a Twelver Shia Muslim purchases something on which khums has not been paid, the seller is liable for its khums, not the buyer.

Ruling 1780. If a person gifts something to a Twelver Shia Muslim on which khums has not been paid, the benefactor is liable for its khums, not the beneficiary [but as stated in ruling 1770, if at the end of the year the gift exceeds his living expenses for the year, he must pay khums on it at that point].

Ruling 1781. If a person acquires some property from a disbeliever (kāfir) or someone who does not believe in paying khums or does not pay khums, it is not obligatory for him to pay khums on it.

Ruling 1782.* If a businessman, merchant, craftsman, clerk, etc., starts trading or working, then after the passing of one year, he must pay khums on the amount that exceeds his living expenses for the year. The same applies to a preacher etc., even if his income is earned at certain times of the year, provided that the income is sufficient to meet a significant portion of his living expenses for the year. As for someone who does not have an occupation by which he can earn a living and who receives help from the government or from people, or someone who incidentally acquires some profit, such persons must pay khums on the amount that exceeds their living expenses for the year after one year has passed from the time they acquired the profit. Therefore, [for the purposes of khums] they can calculate a different year for each amount.

Ruling 1783. During the year, a person can pay khums on his profit whenever he acquires it, and it is also permitted (jāʾiz) for him to delay paying khums until the end of the year. However, if he knows that he will not need it until the end of the year, then based on obligatory precaution, he must pay khums on it immediately. Furthermore, there is no problem if one adopts the solar year for the payment of khums.

Ruling 1784. If a person makes a profit and he dies during the year, his living expenses until the time of his death must be deducted from the profit, and after that khums must be paid immediately on the balance.

Ruling 1785. If the price of a commodity that a person has purchased for the purposes of business rises, and if the person does not sell it and its price falls during the same year [and it is not worth more than the price he paid for it], then khums on the amount of increase in the price is not obligatory for him.

Ruling 1786. If the price of a commodity that a person has purchased for the purposes of business rises, and if the person does not sell it until after the year finishes in the hope that the price will rise, and if in actual fact the price falls, then based on obligatory precaution, it is obligatory for him to pay khums on the amount of increase in the price.

Ruling 1787. If a person has purchased property that was not for business and he has paid khums on it, in the event that its price rises and he sells it, he must pay khums on the amount that has increased in price and which exceeds his living expenses for the year. Similarly, if, for example, a tree bears fruit or a sheep that is kept for its meat becomes fat, one must pay khums on the excess gain.

Ruling 1788. If a person creates a garden with money on which he has paid khums or which is not liable for khums, and if he wants to sell it after its price appreciates, he must pay khums on the fruits, and on the growth of the trees and shrubs that were already growing or that he planted, and on the dry branches that can be pruned and used, and on the increase in the price of the garden. However, if his intention is to sell the fruit of the trees and to benefit from their value, then khums is not obligatory on the increase in price and the rest is liable for khums.

Ruling 1789. If a person plants willows, planes, or similar trees, he must pay khums every year on their growth. Similarly, with regard to the branches of trees that are usually pruned every year, if [they are sold and the income] exceeds his living expenses for the year, he must pay khums on them.

Ruling 1790. A person who has a number of lines of business – for example, with his capital he has bought [and trades in] sugar and rice – in the event that all the lines of his business are the same in business matters such as income and outcome, bookkeeping, and profit and loss, he must pay khums on the amount that exceeds his living expenses for the year. In the event that he gains a profit from one line and makes a loss from another, he can offset the loss from that line with the profit from the other. However, if he has two different lines of business – for example, he trades as well as farms – or, if he has one line of business but the profit and loss are calculated separately from each other, then in these two cases, he cannot, based on obligatory precaution, offset the loss of one with the profit of the other.

Ruling 1791. A person can deduct from his profit the expenses he incurs in making the profit – such as brokerage and transportation costs – and the same applies to any damage done to his tools and equipment, and it is not necessary for him to pay khums on that amount.

Ruling 1792. The amount a person spends from his profit during the year on food, clothing, furniture, the purchase of a house, the wedding of his son, the trousseau of his daughter, ziyārah,[6] and suchlike, is not liable for khums provided that the amount spent is not beyond his status [i.e. the expenses are considered reasonable for someone of his status to incur].

Ruling 1793. The amount one spends on a vow (nadhr) and kaffārah is considered part of his annual living expenses. Similarly, property that one gives to someone as a gift or prize is also considered part of his annual living expenses, provided that it is not beyond his status.

Ruling 1794. If it is common practice [where the person lives] for a person to acquire the trousseau for his daughter gradually over a number of years, and if he does not acquire the trousseau it would be unbefitting of his status – albeit because he was unable to acquire it all at the required time – and if during the year he purchases some of the trousseau from the profit of that year, and his purchases do not exceed his status, and acquiring such a portion of the trousseau in one year would be commonly considered to be part of his normal annual expenditure, then in such a case, it is not obligatory for him to pay khums on it. However, if his purchases exceed his status or he acquires the trousseau next year from the current year's profit, he must pay khums on it.

Ruling 1795. The expenses incurred for hajj and other ziyārahs are considered part of one’s living expenses for the year; and if his journey is prolonged until part of the following year, he must pay khums on what he spends from the previous year’s profits in the second year.

Ruling 1796. With regard to someone who has earned profit from trade, business, or other means, if he owns some other property on which khums is not obligatory, he can calculate his living expenses for the year only from the profit he has earned.

Ruling 1797. If the provisions that a person purchases from his profit of the year are surplus to his needs at the end of the year, he must pay khums on them. In the event that he wants to pay its monetary value instead, then, if it has increased since the time he bought the provisions, he must calculate the khums based on the price at the end of the year.

Ruling 1798.* If before paying khums a person purchases household furniture with the profit earned by him and uses the items before the end of his khums year, it is not necessary for him to pay khums on the items if they are no longer needed after the year end. Similarly, the items are not liable for khums if they are not needed during the year, provided that they are things that are usually kept aside for future years, such as winter and summer clothes. Apart from these types of items, if they are not needed at all during the year, the obligatory precaution is that one must pay khums on them. As for the jewellery of a woman who no longer uses them for adornment, it is not liable for khums.

Ruling 1799. If a person does not make any profit in a year, he cannot deduct his expenses for that year from the profit he makes in the following year.

Ruling 1800. If a person does not make any profit at the beginning of a year and spends out of his capital but then makes some profit before the year’s end, he can deduct the amount he had taken from his capital from the profit he earned.

Ruling 1801. If part of one’s capital is lost in business and similar activities, he can deduct the lost amount from the profit made in the same year.

Ruling 1802. If some property other than one’s capital is lost and he needs that item in the same year, he can acquire it during the year from his profit and it is not liable for khums.

Ruling 1803.* If a person does not make a profit at the end of a year and borrows money to meet his living expenses, he cannot deduct the borrowed amount from the profit made by him in future years and thereby not pay khums on the profit. However, if he borrows money to pay for [something that is a necessary or reasonable expense], such as a car or a house for his personal use, then while he owes money for the purchase of that item and is using it, he can deduct the borrowed amount from his income in future years provided he has not already deducted that borrowed amount from his income in previous years. If he borrows money during the year to meet his living expenses and makes a profit before the year’s end, he can deduct the borrowed amount from his profit. Furthermore, in the first case, he can repay the borrowed amount from the income he receives in future years and that amount will not be liable for khums.[7]

Ruling 1804. If a person borrows money to increase his wealth or to purchase something that he does not need, then in the event that he repays the loan from the profit he acquires in that year without paying khums, he must pay khums on the money he borrowed or the item he purchased with the loan after the arrival of the khums year unless the money he borrowed / item he purchased with it perishes during the year.

Ruling 1805. A person can pay the khums of an item that is liable for khums from the item itself, or he can pay the monetary value of the khums that has become obligatory. However, if he wants to give something else on which khums has not become obligatory, then this is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, he cannot do this],[8] unless he does so with authorisation from a fully qualified jurist.

Ruling 1806. If a person’s property becomes liable for khums and a year has passed, he does not have disposal over that property until he pays khums on it.

Ruling 1807. A person who owes khums cannot take responsibility for it – meaning that he cannot regard himself as being indebted to those entitled to receive it – yet still have disposal over his entire wealth. In the event that he uses the wealth and it is lost, [not only will he have committed a sin but he will still be deemed responsible and] he must pay khums on it.

Ruling 1808. If a person who owes khums makes an interchange settlement[9] with a fully qualified jurist and takes responsibility for it, he has disposal over his entire property; and the profit he earns from it afterwards belongs to him. He must, however, gradually repay the debt in a manner that is not careless.

Ruling 1809. If a person who is a [business] partner with someone else pays khums on his profit but his partner does not, and in the following year his partner offers his property on which khums has not been paid as capital for the partnership, the first partner – supposing he is a Twelver Shia – has disposal over the joint property.

Ruling 1810.* If a child who is a minor (ṣaghīr) acquires some profit, albeit from gifts, and if during the year the profit is not used for the child’s living expenses, it becomes liable for khums and it is obligatory for the guardian (walī) of the child to pay khums on it. In the event that the guardian does not pay it, it is obligatory for the child to pay khums on it after he reaches the age of legal responsibility (i.e. becomes bāligh). However, if a non-bāligh child who is mumayyiz [i.e. able to discern between right and wrong] follows a jurist [i.e. does taqlīd of a mujtahid] who believes that the property of a non-bāligh child is not liable for khums, then the guardian of that child does not have the right to pay khums on the child’s property from the child’s property.

Ruling 1811. If a person who acquires property doubts whether the former owner has paid khums on it or not, he still has disposal over the property. In fact, even if the new owner is certain that the former owner has not paid khums on it, if the former owner is someone who does not pay khums and the new owner is a Twelver Shia, he has disposal over it.

Ruling 1812. If a person purchases something with the profit earned by him during the year, but the item cannot be considered a necessary or reasonable expense [as per his status] for the year, it is obligatory for him to pay khums on it at the end of the year. In the event that he does not pay khums on it and the value of the property increases, he must pay khums on its current value.

Ruling 1813. If a person purchases something with money on which khums has not been paid for a year [as a non-specified undertaking, which is explained in the first footnote pertaining to Ruling 807], and if its price increases, then in the event that he did not intend to buy the item as an investment and to sell it when its price increases – for example, he purchases land for farming [rather than to sell it once its price increases] – he must pay khums on the purchase price. However, if, for example, he gives the seller the actual money on which khums has not been paid and tells him that he is purchasing the item with that money,[10] he must pay khums on the current value of the item.

Ruling 1814. If someone has not paid khums from the time he became legally obliged to fulfil religious duties, or if he has not paid khums for a period of time – for example, a number of years – then, if during the year he purchases something that he does not need from the profit made by trading and one year passes from the time he started trading – or, if he is not a trader and one year passes from the time he made the profit – he must pay khums on the item. However, if he purchases household furniture and other items that he needs according to his status, it is not necessary for him to pay khums on them provided that he knows that he purchased them during the year in which he made a profit, and he purchased them with the same year’s profit, and he used them in the same year. If he does not know this, then based on obligatory precaution, he must arrive at a settlement (muṣālaḥah) with a fully qualified jurist on an amount that is proportionate to the probability; for example, if he deems it 50% probable that khums on the items is obligatory, then he must pay khums on that 50%.