Question: In a household where both the husband and the wife are working and their income is combined in one place, should they calculate their zakāt separately or jointly?
Answer:
Like other acts of worship, zakāt is an individual obligation; each person is individually responsible for it or not.
Accordingly, the zakāt of spouses is not calculated based on their jointly held wealth; rather, their assets are assessed separately—even if only notionally. After deducting essential needs and debts, if an individual’s accumulated wealth reaches the value of 85 grams of gold, and after one year has passed he still possesses that amount or more, he becomes liable for zakāt. An individual who does not meet these conditions is not liable for zakāt.