Ruling 1810 — The One-Fifth Tax (Khums)

If a child who is a minor (ṣaghīr) acquires some profit, albeit from gifts, and if during the year the profit is not used for the child’s living expenses, it becomes liable for khums and it is obligatory for the guardian (walī) of the child to pay khums on it. In the event that the guardian does not pay it, it is obligatory for the child to pay khums on it after he reaches the age of legal responsibility (i.e. becomes bāligh). However, if a non-bāligh child who is mumayyiz [i.e. able to discern between right and wrong] follows a jurist [i.e. does taqlīd of a mujtahid] who believes that the property of a non-bāligh child is not liable for khums, then the guardian of that child does not have the right to pay khums on the child’s property from the child’s property.