Do I pay zakat on gift cards?
Many contemporary scholars say yes: unused gift card balances count with your cash when you work out your zakat. A gift card is prepaid value you can spend like money. Small balances you keep for everyday use rarely change much, but large ones should be included.
Why a gift card is like cash
When a store sells a gift card, it takes real money and promises goods of the same value later. So the card is a credit you hold with that store. Scholars who have looked at this recent question mostly treat it as one of two things:
- Like cash: you can spend it whenever you want, so count the balance on your zakat date. This is the more common view and the safer choice.
- Like a debt owed to you: the store owes you goods, and some scholars say you only count it once it is used, or count it only if it is easy to use.
Either way, nobody is asking you to count a coffee-shop card with a few dollars on it. The question matters when you hold large balances. See Do I pay zakat on money someone owes me?
What to count
- Store and restaurant cards: the remaining balance.
- Prepaid Visa or Mastercard gift cards: these are almost exactly cash, so include them.
- Store credit from returns: same as a gift card.
- Expired or unusable cards: leave them out; they are worth nothing to you.
- Cards you bought to give away (say, for Eid or birthdays): many scholars say they are still yours until you hand them over, so count them if you still have them on your zakat date.
Add the total to your cash and savings and check it against the nisab. See How do I calculate my zakat?
Can I pay my zakat with gift cards?
Zakat has to reach the people Allah named:
The Hanafi school, and many contemporary scholars, accept zakat given as value, so a supermarket gift card handed directly to an eligible family can count at its face value. Other scholars prefer cash, so the person can choose what they need. If you use a charity, check how it delivers support. See Who can receive zakat?
- Many scholars treat gift card balances like cash for zakat.
- Prepaid Visa or Mastercard cards are clearly cash.
- Leave out expired cards; tiny balances make little difference.
- A grocery gift card given to someone eligible can count as zakat in many views.
People also ask
Why is zakat a pillar of Islam?
Zakat is a pillar of Islam because Allah made it a duty, the Prophet listed it among the five, and the Quran pairs it with prayer.
Read the full answer →Can zakat be spent on dawah work?
Can zakat be spent on dawah? Classical schools read 'in the cause of Allah' narrowly, while many modern scholars include dawah. A balanced view.
Read the full answer →Can zakat pay for a poor person's funeral?
Most scholars say zakat can't pay a funeral directly, since the dead can't own it. Give zakat to the poor family, or use sadaqah instead.
Read the full answer →Who are "those whose hearts are to be reconciled"?
Those whose hearts are to be reconciled (al-mu'allafatu qulubuhum) are a zakat category for new Muslims and people drawn to Islam. Who it covers.
Read the full answer →What if I gave zakat to someone who wasn't eligible?
If you checked reasonably, many scholars say zakat to someone not eligible still counts. Others say recover it or pay again to be safe.
Read the full answer →