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Fatwa CenterPaying Zakat on income after taxes
Question
ِA Muslim living in an un-Islamic country. Working in a government organization ordering business. On income the government deduct income tax which is 30% as per law of a particular country if gross income exceed in a year one lakh fifty thousand .That is he is paying a good portion of money to government and if saved some amount out of that paying Zakaat as well on the gross earning. What is the Islamic ruling in such a case i.e., how a Muslim will be spared from double payment. To advise that go and settle in an Islamic country is simple but practically difficult. Only little country is Islamic. Most countries are only Muslim countries and not Islamic countries where they follow man made law and income tax law also exist which is a sorry state of affairs.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
If the tax that the questioner mentioned is agreed upon by the government and the person who lives on its land, and he himself agrees to it, or that he is obliged to pay tax in return of some services that are provided for him, then he has to abide by this agreement unless it is proven to him by certainty or he is pretty sure that the government is going to use it in forbidden matters.
In such a case, it is permissible for you to avoid paying tax in a way that you do not expose yourself to danger or to humiliation, as it is not permissible for a Muslim to humiliate himself in front of a non-Muslim.
As regards the tax that is imposed on a person without a prior agreement [between the two parties], and there are no services that are offered for him in return, then he is not obliged to pay it and it is permissible for him to avoid paying it.
In any case, you should know, dear brother, that whether you paid these taxes or not, it is not permissible to count them as Zakat money, because Zakat should only be spent on eight types of people and it is not sufficient or acceptable to spend it otherwise.
It is known that tax is not spent in the same channels the Zakat is spent.
For more benefit in this regard, please refer to Fatwa 88368.
Allaah Knows best.
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