Ruling 1772 — The One-Fifth Tax (Khums)

If a person inherits some property and knows that the person from whom he inherited it did not pay khums on it, he must pay khums on it. Similarly, if the property itself is not liable for khums but the heir knows that the person he inherited it from owed some khums, he must pay khums on it from the deceased’s estate. However, in both cases, if the person from whom he inherited it did not believe in paying khums, or never paid it, and neither stipulated in his will that it be paid from his estate, then it is not necessary for the heir to pay the khums owed by the deceased.