Question Summary:
Zakat and mortgage

Question Detail:

I wanted to ask a question about paying zakat on some savings i have now accumulated for a year. I have a mortgage which i am paying for and wanted to know if i need to pay zakat on the savings i have even though i have a mortgage to pay.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If the saved amount is equivalent to or more than the nisab (minimal zakatable threshold) and one your has passed by on the saved amount, then that amount is zakatable at 2,5% [1].
The bank loan that is due at the time when zakat is due will be deducted from the saving amount and zakat will be worked out on the remaining amount.
For example, if you got a saving  of R10 000 for one year, which ends at the end of March. In March, you owe the bank R1000. You will deduct R1000 from R10 000 and calculate 2,5% zakat from R9000 which is R225.
Abu Ali ad-Dagistani
Student Darul Iftaa
Moscow, Russia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net