How should Zakat be paid?

Income tax and Zakat are separate taxes: income tax is on income, whereas Zakat is a tax on idle savings (Fiqh Ahmadiyyah, vi p. 353). They have separate wisdoms and are paid separately.

On our Jama‘at receipts, the first category of financial sacrifice is listed as Zakat, our Zakat should be paid under this category and should not be given under chandah or sadaqah. Zakat is spent by means of and with the permission of the Khalifah of the time (Fiqh Ahmadiyya, vol. 1, p. 371).

When asked whether Zakat can be given directly to a person in need locally or if it should be sent to Markaz, Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud ^ra said:

Zakat should be collected with the Imam.

(Fatawa Hadrat Musleh Mau‘ud, vol. 1, p. 147–148)

All Zakat is sent directly to international headquarters and is allocated from there under the guidance of the Khalifah.