Zakaat on prepaid expenditure and deposits

Q: Please advise if the following items (which are treated as assets in the Annual Financial Statement) are included under zakaatable assets for the purposes of calculating your zakaat:

1)Prepaid Expenditure

2)Deposits held by Suppliers or service providers eg. The municipality

Will "Income received in advance" (normally treated as a liability in the Annual Financial Statement) be included in determining your zakaat?

A:

1. One will not have to pay zakaat for prepaid expenditure e.g. rent paid in advance. 
2. Zakaat is compulsory upon wealth kept as deposits. However one has the choice of discharging the zakaat for each year or discharging the zakaat for the past years upon receiving the wealth.
3. One will have to discharge the zakaat of such wealth. 

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)