Understanding the Khums year
A Twelver Shia guide to annual Khums review, ordinary needs, start dates, and why complex funds require your marja’s direction.
This Twelver Shia guide summarises published rulings of the Office of Ayatollah Sistani. Your own marja’s rulings and the facts of your case govern you; this is not a personal fatwa.
In this guide
What the Khums year measures
A Khums year is a recurring point for reviewing what remains from relevant income after recognised expenditure for that year. It is not a label that automatically gives every possession, account balance, or payment the same ruling. [1]
In the published Sistani rulings, the central issue for earnings is surplus beyond annual living expenses. They distinguish income, gifts, inheritances, and other property. This guide sets out that framework; it is not a universal rule. [1]
Surplus and ordinary needs
Those rulings include costs of earning income and annual living expenses for a person and dependants. Food, housing, clothing, transport, treatment, household needs, and other customary spending may matter, as do the facts, timing, use, and local custom. [1][2]
An allowable expense is not merely whatever someone wants to deduct. The cited summary refers to customary, non-extravagant spending. It says money saved through frugality remains relevant; it does not become an expense just because it could have been spent. [1][2]
The start date is not one date for all
For someone whose occupation provides a livelihood, the cited Sistani rulings place the beginning of the Khums year at the start of work. They do not make a salary deposit date, a birthday, or a convenient calendar choice a substitute for establishing the actual start point. [1][2]
The treatment is different for a person without a regular livelihood occupation who receives an incidental gain. The published rules allow that amount to be used for living expenses for a complete year from when it is acquired, and may treat different amounts separately. A person’s own marja may state the details differently. [1][2]
Why a balance is not a calculation
A closing balance alone does not identify the ruling. Its source and purpose can change the analysis: cash from earnings, trade stock, a business tool, an item actually used for living, a gift, and an inheritance are not automatically treated alike in the cited rulings. [1][2]
Loans, unpaid debts, advance payments, jointly held funds, investments, and property prepared over time deserve the same caution. Do not apply a general subtraction or a percentage from this guide to such funds. Record how and when the money or asset arose, then seek the ruling that applies to that category and your circumstances. [1][2]
Uncertainty needs the marja’s direction
If earlier years were not reviewed, the history is incomplete, or an amount is genuinely doubtful, do not make certainty from a rough estimate. The cited Office guidance directs a person with uncalculated assets or doubtful amounts to consult the religious authority or an authorised representative. [1][2]
That consultation can clarify the start date, the character of funds, prior use, debts, and the appropriate way to resolve uncertainty. This is especially important when more than one income stream or ownership interest is involved. The procedure in these sources belongs to the identified Office and should not be treated as another marja’s ruling. [1][2]
Prepare a clear review
As practical planning advice, keep a simple record of the date you understand as your annual point, income received, ordinary expenses actually paid, items still held, and questions you cannot classify. Keep personal and business matters distinct where that helps explain the facts.
Bring that record to your marja’s office or authorised representative rather than relying on a generic calculator. This guide does not determine a liability, receive or transfer Khums, or decide entitlement. Its purpose is to help you ask a clear question and follow the ruling of your own marja.