Assessing the Validity of Payroll Zakat Practices for Civil Servants

In many government institutions today, civil servants’ (ASN) payslips not only include deductions for income tax and social security contributions. In several regions, there is also a 2.5% zakat deduction through the payroll system, channelled to the National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas). This policy is often promoted as an innovation in managing Islamic philanthropy: practical, efficient, and capable of amassing large amounts of social funds. From the perspective of modern zakat institution governance, such a system offers stability in fund collection alongside ease of distribution to beneficiaries. However, behind this administrative efficiency, does the ASN payroll zakat practice truly align with zakat principles in Sharia, or is it gradually turning into a kind of ‘second tax’ wrapped in religious terminology? This question is important not to reject zakat, which is one of the pillars of Islam, but to ensure that public policies in the name of zakat remain faithful to the spirit of Sharia that underpins it. Zakat as an Administrative Instrument It cannot be denied that the payroll system makes a significant contribution to increasing zakat fund collection in Indonesia. We provide some sample examples. In DKI Jakarta, for instance, the collection of zakat, infaq, and alms (ZIS) through Baznas reached around Rp247.9 billion throughout 2023, up from around Rp223 billion in 2022. These funds were then distributed to millions of beneficiaries through various social programmes. A similar phenomenon is seen in Lampung Province. Baznas Lampung’s ZIS collection increased from around Rp16.2 billion in 2021 to Rp19.7 billion in 2022, and approaching Rp23 billion in 2023. This rise is largely supported by the optimisation of Zakat Collection Units (UPZ) in government institutions, including contributions from ASN through salary deductions. From the perspective of public policy management, these achievements are certainly commendable. Social funds are increasing, and zakat institutions obtain relatively stable funding sources. However, administrative success does not automatically equate to normative validity. In Islam, zakat is not merely a social fiscal instrument, but an act of worship with clear conditions, limits, and principles in fiqh. When zakat is treated solely as a fund collection mechanism, there is a risk that the worship dimension inherent in it is reduced to an administrative procedure.