Short answer
In the Hanafi school, no: there is no zakat on wealth owned by a child below puberty, even if it is above the nisab. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools say zakat is due on it and the guardian pays it from the child's money. Zakat al-fitr is still paid for children in every school.
Zakat is an act of worship and a child is not yet accountable, so it is not fard on a minor's wealth. The child's zakat year begins at puberty if they then own the nisab. If money in a child's name still really belongs to the parent, the parent pays zakat on it.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Zakat is due on a child's wealth, and the guardian pays it from that wealth each year.
- Maliki
- Zakat is due on a child's wealth, and the guardian pays it from that wealth each year.
- Hanbali
- Zakat is due on a child's wealth, and the guardian pays it from that wealth each year.
Explanation
The Hanafi school holds that zakat, like prayer and fasting, is worship, and worship is required only of someone who is accountable: adult and sane. A child who has inherited money or received large gifts therefore owes no zakat on it until puberty. From then on, the normal rules apply, and the first zakat year starts at puberty if they hold the nisab.
The key question is who actually owns the money:
- Gifts given to the child as theirs, or an inheritance: the child's money, so no zakat in the Hanafi school.
- A savings account opened in the child's name that the parent still treats as family money: the parent's money, so the parent includes it in their own zakat.
- Money set aside for a child's future that the parent has not actually given: still the parent's.
The other three schools see zakat as a right of the poor in the wealth itself, and they rely on reports from Umar and other Companions who paid zakat on orphans' wealth. Families who follow those schools pay from the child's money each year.
Zakat al-fitr is different. In the Hanafi school the father pays it for his young children (see who pays zakat al-fitr).
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:6
وَٱبْتَلُوا۟ ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغُوا۟ ٱلنِّكَاحَ فَإِنْ ءَانَسْتُم مِّنْهُمْ رُشْدًۭا فَٱدْفَعُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَأْكُلُوهَآ إِسْرَافًۭا وَبِدَارًا أَن يَكْبَرُوا۟ ۚ وَمَن كَانَ غَنِيًّۭا فَلْيَسْتَعْفِفْ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ فَقِيرًۭا فَلْيَأْكُلْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ فَإِذَا دَفَعْتُمْ إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ فَأَشْهِدُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ حَسِيبًۭا ﴿٦﴾
And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them. And do not consume it excessively and quickly, [anticipating] that they will grow up. And whoever, [when acting as guardian], is self-sufficient should refrain [from taking a fee]; and whoever is poor - let him take according to what is acceptable. Then when you release their property to them, bring witnesses upon them. And sufficient is Allah as Accountant.
A minor's property is held and managed by a guardian until they are mature.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4398
Graded sahih... رفع القلم عن ثلاثة عن النائم حتى يستيقظ ...
"The pen is lifted from three: the sleeper until he wakes, the insane until he recovers, and the child until he grows up."
The Hanafi basis: a child is not yet required to perform acts of worship such as zakat.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Zakat, opening section on who owes zakat. No zakat on the wealth of a child or an insane person.
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Zakat, conditions of obligation. Adulthood and sanity as conditions.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Zakat, on the wealth of a child and an insane person. The Hanbali view that zakat is due and the guardian pays.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.