Khums Calculator
Work out the khums (one-fifth) due on your yearly surplus: savings, investments and leftover income on your khums date, minus khums-paid money, exempt mahr and inheritance, and debts for living expenses.
Read the full guide in Roman Urdu →
What you own on your khums date
Balance on your khums date
Shares, funds, prize bonds, crypto, savings certificates (current value)
Not jewellery worn as normal for your status
Value of goods for sale and business cash
Rice, flour, oil and other stock left over
Many maraji' allow paying khums on it when it's returned
Deduct
Khums-paid savings from earlier years still in hand
Exempt: mahr, and inheritance under valid inheritance law
Loans taken for the household's needs this year
- Assets on your khums date: Rs 450,000 + Rs 200,000 + Rs 15,000 + Rs 50,000 = Rs 715,000
- Deductions: khums-paid Rs 300,000 + mahr/inheritance Rs 0 + debts for living costs Rs 25,000 = Rs 325,000
- Surplus = Rs 715,000 − Rs 325,000 = Rs 390,000; khums = 20% × Rs 390,000 = Rs 78,000
- After paying, Rs 390,000 becomes khums-paid money; enter it under "already paid" next year so it isn't counted twice.
- →Choose a fixed khums date (lunar or solar) and calculate on whatever you hold that day every year.
- →Things you bought and used during the year for normal living, like clothes, furniture and a car you use, are living expenses, not surplus.
- →If you sell a non-business asset for more than you paid, khums may be due on the gain (Sistani, ruling 1787).
- →In your first khums year, ask your marja's office how to treat what you already owned before you started paying.
- →Keep a simple record each year of what was khums-paid, so the same money isn't counted again.
This tool is for informational purposes only. Always verify results with a qualified professional.
What is the Khums Calculator?
This khums calculator works out the khums due on your annual surplus. Khums, one-fifth, is an Islamic financial obligation followed by Shia Muslims: once a year, on a date you choose as your khums date, you pay 20% of whatever is left over from the year's income after your and your family's living expenses. Enter what you own on that date (cash, bank balances, savings and investments, gold kept as savings, business stock, unused provisions and money you've lent), subtract money that has already had khums paid on it, exempt mahr and inheritance, and unpaid debts taken for this year's living costs, and the calculator shows your surplus, the khums due and its two shares.
The calculation follows the rulings of Ayatollah al-Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in his Islamic Laws. Khums is due on earnings that exceed the year's living expenses (ruling 1769), including gifts that, with other earnings, go beyond those expenses (1770). Money saved by being frugal is still liable (1773). Living expenses that are suitable for your status, such as food, clothing, housing, hajj and ziyarah, are not liable (1792, 1795), and household items bought and used during the year are exempt (1798). Mahr and inheritance received under valid inheritance law are exempt (1771). Debts taken for the year's living costs can be deducted (1803), but money borrowed to increase wealth is not (1804). Your khums year can follow the lunar or the solar calendar (1783).
Khums is traditionally divided into two equal halves: Sahm-e-Imam (the share of the Imam) and Sahm-e-Sadat (the share for needy Sayyids). Most maraji' require Sahm-e-Imam to be paid through their office or an authorised representative, and set conditions for giving Sahm-e-Sadat directly to needy Sayyids, so check your own marja's instructions before paying.
Worked example (PKR): on your khums date you have Rs 450,000 in cash and bank accounts, Rs 200,000 in savings, Rs 15,000 of unused food stock and Rs 50,000 lent to a friend, for Rs 715,000 in total. Of this, Rs 300,000 is savings on which you already paid khums last year, and you still owe Rs 25,000 for this year's household expenses, so Rs 325,000 is deducted. The surplus is Rs 390,000 and khums is 20% of it, Rs 78,000: Rs 39,000 Sahm-e-Imam and Rs 39,000 Sahm-e-Sadat. Next year, the Rs 390,000 counts as khums-paid money.
Rulings differ between maraji' on points such as gifts, money lent, the start of the khums year and the value of goods, and some of them require precautions in particular cases. This calculator is a guide to the arithmetic, not a fatwa. Follow the rulings of your own marja and ask their office or a trusted scholar about your situation.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Pick your currency and use the values on your khums date.
- 2Enter cash and bank balances, savings and investments, gold kept as savings, business stock, unused provisions and money you've lent.
- 3Enter money already khums-paid, any mahr or valid inheritance included above, and unpaid debts for this year's living costs.
- 4Read your surplus and the khums due at 20%, split into Sahm-e-Imam and Sahm-e-Sadat.
- 5Pay according to your marja's instructions, and record the paid amount as khums-paid for next year.