Prayer TimesWhen calculating zakat, a person who is obligated to pay zakat deducts debts related to the rights of others from their zakatable assets. According to the general view of the Hanafi school, both due and not-yet-due debts are treated the same in this regard. However, according to some Hanafi scholars, only accumulated debts that are due and demanded by the creditor are deducted; debts that are not yet due are not deducted. This is because such deferred debts are generally not demanded by creditors, whereas debts that are due are. (Kâsânî, Bedâ’i, 2/6)
According to the well-known view of the Shafi'i school, no debt is deducted from any zakatable assets, and therefore being in debt does not prevent one from paying zakat. (Nawawi, al-Majmū‘, 5/344)
Today, public, TOKI, cooperative, or credit debts that are scheduled to be paid regularly over many years should not be deducted in full from zakatable assets. This is because these payment plans often span very long terms of 10–20 years, and people are not required to pay off these debts within the same year.
Therefore, only the accumulated debts that are due within that zakat year—those whose due date falls within the year and thus must be paid immediately in that zakat year—should be deducted from the zakatable assets held by the individual. This is because zakat is an annual act of worship.
Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu
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