Question Summary:
In principle, deferred liabilities do not prevent the obligation of Zakat

Question Detail:

my question is zakat related and qurbani related. 1- i've had final instalment of student loan on me in 2013 & it left me with the total loan of £30,000 approx. i have not paid anything back yet as i am not working and got married in 2010. I have approx 50tola of gold given in my wedding. Although my husband has been giving full zakat on it since 2011 every ramadan but ive heard n been reading that if u have loans then u should take away that amount n whatever is left....
Giv for zakat. M I eligible to still pay zakat even though i have £30,000 loan n have not paid anything back n don't know when i'll pay back as m a full time mother now.? And if there r any exceptions then what about all that zakat paid since 2011? Can i recalculate and adjust for this year? We are always very happy to give zakat alhamdulliah. 2- my 2nd question is.... Ive also been told /heard that if u pay zakat that means you're wealthy n it becomes compulsory to do qurbani. This also relates to above loan n gold....
M I obliged to do qurbani? Also i have 2 daughters both under 5. Is qurbani / zakat farz on them though they have very little gold for them. Will my husband also have to do qurbani if wife is doing so?....as he has separate loan of £6000 approx from his mother n will pay off as soon as he gets a source? I'llbe very thankful if u could answer before ramadan as we give zakat on the 1st of ramadan. 

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
1. You state that are indebted for a student loan and you possess a certain amount of gold. Your husband has been paying Zakaat on the gold on your behalf. 
 
In principle, deferred liabilities do not prevent the obligation of zakat. If a person is paying off long term debts such as mortgages/loans etc then, the value of the loan will be deducted from ones total wealth and the amount oweable for one year will be calculated as a debt, and only that amount will be considered when applying the rules of zakat. For example, your total liability for the student loan is $50 000 and your yearly instalments are $5 000. You will only calculate $5 000 as your liability when calculating your Zakaat. You should calculate your total liabilities versus your assets when calculating your Zakaat. For example, your liabilities are $5000 and your Zakaatible assets are $5000. You are not obligated to pay Zakaat. 
 
You may re-calculate your Zakaat for the previous years and adjust your Zakaat payments for the current/future years accordingly. You state that you have 50 tola of gold. You should calculate the value of the 50 tola gold and offset the value of the 50 tola gold with that of one year’s repayments for the student loan in order to ascertain your eligibility for Zakaat. For example, the 50 tola gold is valued at $5000 and one year’s repayments for the student loan is $5000. One will not be obligated to pay Zakaat since the liability of the student loan negates the value of the 50 tola gold when calculating Zakaat. If the value of the gold is for example $10 000 and the student loan is $5000, then $5000 will be deducted as a liability and Zakat is payable on $5000, balance of the value of the gold of 2.5%.
 
2. Qurbani is an obligation upon anyone who meets the requirements for Qurbani. The requirements that have to be found in a person to do Qurbani are the following. The person must be a:
 
1) Free person (not a slave)
2) Muslim
3) Mature (adult)
4) Sane
5) Resident (not a traveler in terms of Shari’ah)
6) One who owns wealth equal to Zakaat nisaab (after deducting liabilities)
 
With regards to your specific question, Qurbani is not Wajib upon one who is not obligated to pay Zakaat. Therefore we advise you and your husband to determine whether you are obligated to pay Zakaat or not. Your children are not obligated to do Qurbani since they are not mature. Your husband will be obligated to do Qurbani if he is obligated to pay Zakaat.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ismail Desai,
Darul Iftaa
 
Checked and Approved,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.