Q213: Paying Zakat of next year

Question

Asalamwalaykum, Inshallah you are keeping well.

My question pertains to Zakat, and its distribution. Until recently I would take out my Zakat in Ramadhan each year, and distribute 50% of it during Ramadhan and keep the other 50% to distribute throughout the remainder of the year. However, I read somewhere that you should discharge your zakat immediately and should a disaster or a need arise later in the year where zakat is required you, should pay it with the intention of next years zakat. I would be grateful if you could confirm that this is correct ? If so, if i was to pay say £500 zakat from next years allowance this year, would I have to include this £500 when working out the amount of zakat that is due the following year ?

Jazakallah Khair

Answer

You can pay it with the intention of next year’s zakat.