If zakat was not paid for one year, is two years’ zakat paid the next year?

Question

If the owner of one nisab has not paid zakat despite the completion of the year, and the second year has also been completed, should he now pay zakat for one year or for two? Likewise, if four years pass, will the zakat of only the first year be wajib, or that of every year?

Answer

He should pay for two years if, even after paying [the zakat] for one year, the amount of the nisab remains; otherwise only [the zakat] of one year will be wajib. That is, when he has only one nisab and no more, then out of it a portion equal to the zakat became a debt upon the completion of the year, and no nisab remained for the following year — so the zakat of the following…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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