How does a person deduct ones debts and liabilities when calculating missed Zakaat for previous years? 

Q. A person did not take out his Zakaat for three years. Now he is taking it out. Does he take out Zakaat on one amount for each of the three years or each year separately?

A. In the enquired case, if a person did not discharge his Zakaat for the past three years and for the first year, he was liable to discharge for e.g. R1000, he will deduct a R1000 when discharging Zakaat for the second year. In the similar case, he would deduct the liable amount of Zakaat for the second year when discharging Zakaat for the third year. (Ahsanul Fataawa 4/275)

Hence, he will not discharge his Zakaat on a lump sum of unpaid Zakaat for the previous years, rather, he will discharge his Zakaat separately for each year and deduct the amount of Zakaat already paid previously.

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

themufti.com