A Codification of the Law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh

III. Determining the Amount of Ḥuqúqu’lláh

Everything that a believer possesses, with the exception of certain specific items, is subject once and only once to the payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh.

1. Exempt from assessment to Ḥuqúqu’lláh are:

   1. The residence and its needful² furnishings (36)

   2. The needful business and agricultural equipment which produce income for one’s subsistence (42, 46, 47)

2. Conditions under which payment falls due:

   1. Ḥuqúqu’lláh is payable as soon as a person’s assessable possessions reach or exceed the value of 19 mithqáls of gold (43). [19 mithqáls equal approximately 2.2 troy ounces or approximately 69.2 grams (52).]

      1. The amount to be paid is 19% of the value of the assessable property (3, 34).

      2. The payment is calculated on whole units of 19 mithqáls of gold (41).

   2. Ḥuqúqu’lláh is payable on further units of 19 mithqáls of gold when subsequently acquired possessions, after the deduction of the annual expenses, raise the value of the assessable property sufficiently. Among the expenses to be deducted are:

      1. The general expenses of living (45, 48, 49)

      2. Losses and expenses incurred on the sale of possessions (55, 78)

      3. Sums which are paid to the state, such as taxes and duties (49)

   3. When a person receives a gift or bequest it is to be added to his or her possessions and augments the total value in the same way as does an excess of annual income over expenditure (60, 74).

   4. If a property increases in value, Ḥuqúqu’lláh is not payable on that increase until it is realized, e.g., on the sale of the property (67).

   5. If possessions decrease, such as through the expenses of a year exceeding the income received, Ḥuqúqu’lláh falls due again only after the loss has been made good and the total value of one’s assessable possessions is augmented (37, 38, 41, 43, 45–47, 49, 60, 72).

   6. The payment of debts takes precedence over the payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh (35, 68, 71).

   7. The payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh is dependent on the person’s financial ability to meet his obligations (33).

   8. On the death of a believer, the completion of his or her payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh is accomplished in the following manner:

      1. The first charge on the estate is the expense of burial (35).

      2. Secondly, the debts of the deceased must be paid (40).

      3. The Ḥuqúqu’lláh still payable on the property should then be paid. In establishing the value of the property on which Ḥuqúqu’lláh has not already been paid, the following are among the deductions to be made: expenses of burial (35), debts of the deceased (40), loss of value of the assets when realized (55) and expenses incurred in realizing the assets (55). The principal residence as well as items such as necessary furnishings and tools of trade remain exempt (79).

3. Further notes on determining Ḥuqúqu’lláh:

   1. Each believer should learn not only how to calculate Ḥuqúqu’lláh during the course of his or her life but also how to provide for the payment of the balance remaining at the date of death (65, 68).

   2. Although the law provides a certain leeway in the timing of the payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, it should preferably be paid by a believer during the course of his or her life whenever it falls due (73); in this case the only payment to Ḥuqúqu’lláh which should be provided for by the will is such additional liability as may be found to exist when the believer’s financial affairs are determined at the date of death (65).

   3. One believer cannot discharge the obligation of another to pay Ḥuqúqu’lláh nor can a payment to Ḥuqúqu’lláh be earmarked for any purpose or be made in honour of anyone (64, 80).

   4. The law of Ḥuqúqu’lláh imposes an obligation only on individual believers, not on Bahá’í institutions or corporate bodies (76).

   5. It is left to the individual to decide which expenses are to be regarded as “necessary” and therefore deductible in computing the annual accretion to savings and which furnishings of the household are to be regarded as “needful” and therefore exempt from the payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh (19, 45, 46, 48–50, 56–58, 61, 70).

   6. Although references are made to annual payments of Ḥuqúqu’lláh, the time and method of payment are left to the discretion of the individual believer (69, 72, 78). There is, therefore, no obligation to liquidate one’s assets in haste in order to fulfil one’s current obligations to Ḥuqúqu’lláh (55).

   7. Husband and wife are free to decide whether they want to honour their Ḥuqúqu’lláh obligations jointly or individually (59, 71, 74).

   8. The account of Ḥuqúqu’lláh should be kept separate from other contributions inasmuch as the disposition of the funds of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh is subject to decision by the Central Authority in the Cause to which all must turn, whereas the purposes of the contributions to other funds may be determined by the donors themselves.

   9. Payment of Ḥuqúqu’lláh has priority over making contributions to other funds of the Faith (49, 54, 57), as well as over the cost of pilgrimage (2). It is, however, left to the discretion of the believer whether or not to treat contributions to the fund as an expense when arriving at the value of his or her property in calculating the sum to be paid as Ḥuqúqu’lláh (57) or to make contributions only out of money on which Ḥuqúqu’lláh has been paid (62). He or she also has the discretion to treat some contributions in one way and some in the other (62).