Hawzah News Agency - Some governments and some companies in non-Muslim as well as Muslim, countries deposit the salaries of their employees directly into their accounts in the banks. The employee does not get the money in his hand, although he can withdraw it whenever he wants. Now, if the statement of his account shows that the money has surpassed his annual expenses, is khums obligatory on it?

Answer: Khums is payable on what has surpassed his annual needs, except in the case of a government employee in a Muslim state that deposits his salary into a state or private bank. In the latter case, Khums would not be obligatory on the salary that has been deposited in the bank until he [physically] takes possession of it with the permission of the Mujtahid. Then the salary will be included in his income of that year and Khums will become obligatory on what is in excess to that year’s expenses.

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