To whom can zakat al-fitr be given, and to whom can it not be given?

Zakāt al-fitr is given to poor Muslims who are not dependents of the giver. It is essential that the person who is obliged to give zakāt al-fitr or fidya for fasting does not benefit from it directly or indirectly. The same rule applies to zakāt. Therefore, one cannot give their zakāt, zakāt al-fitr, or fidya to their ascendants or descendants. (Ascendants are a person's mother, father, grandfathers, and grandmothers; descendants are their children, grandchildren, and their offspring.) Additionally, spouses cannot give zakāt, zakāt al-fitr, or fidya to each other.

According to the Ḥanafīs, zakāt al-fitr cannot be given to the following:

a) Mother, father, grandmothers, and grandfathers; b) Son, son's children, daughter, daughter's children, and their offspring; c) One's spouse; d) The wealthy, i.e., those who possess the nisab amount of wealth in excess of their basic needs; e) A minor whose father is wealthy (Merghīnānī, al-Hidāya, 1/111-112)

f) According to the Shāfiʿīs and Imam Abū Yūsuf, zakāt al-fitr cannot be given to non-Muslims. (Māwardī, al-Hāwī, 3/387; 10/519; Merghīnānī, al-Hidāya, 1/111)

Other relatives such as siblings, aunts, uncles, and their children, as well as daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, may receive zakāt, zakāt al-fitr, and fidya if they are not wealthy. (Zaylaʿī, Tabyīn, 1/301)

Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu