Sourced rules on maaser kesafim

The Sages capped charitable giving at twenty percent of one's means so the giver does not become impoverished. The app warns when cumulative giving exceeds 20% of income, while noting the recognized exceptions (great wealth, deathbed bequests).

Giving ten percent of income is the standard measure of tzedakah; giving twenty percent (chomesh) is the preferred level for one who can afford it. The app's default setting is 10%, with 20% available.

Costs of producing income — payroll, inventory, rent, advertising, business taxes and insurance, non-negligent business losses, and business travel including meals and lodging on the road — are deducted from revenue before calculating maaser.

Whether work-enabling childcare is a deductible cost of producing income or a non-deductible household expense is disputed. The app defaults this to 'ask your rav.'

Whether wedding expenses for one's children can come from maaser depends on the family's means and on which authority one follows. Default badge: ask your rav.

Rent, food, clothing, and other household costs do not reduce maaser income under the standard position. Sephardi practice permits leniency under financial strain. Where hardship exists, ask your rav.

Mandatory levies on income — income tax, Social Security, government-mandated disability insurance — are deducted before maaser, since that money never becomes yours. Note: a tax refund or credit you receive is new maaser income.

Maaser is for tzedakah, primarily the poor. Objects you are personally obligated to buy for mitzvos — tefillin, an esrog — are not funded from maaser under the standard position.

Taxes that accompany personal consumption — sales tax, property tax on your residence — are living expenses and do not reduce the maaser base. Taxes on income-producing property are treated as business expenses.

Voluntary synagogue pledges may generally be paid from maaser if you intended that when pledging; binding membership dues are treated like personal obligations. Specifics are disputed — ask your rav. (Flagged for a dedicated research pass.)

For children beyond the age of obligatory support, Torah-education costs are widely treated as payable from maaser, though practice varies with family circumstances. Default badge: ask your rav.

Standard tuition for your own school-age children is an obligation you already owe, so it cannot be funded from maaser. (One who voluntarily forgoes an available tuition reduction may pay the difference from maaser, per contemporary poskim.)

Where a family truly cannot cover tuition from regular funds, some authorities permit drawing on maaser; others do not. This is a genuine dispute — consult your rav before tagging tuition payments.

Choose an accounting period in advance (calendar/fiscal year or Hebrew year) and reconcile income, losses, and maaser given at period end. The app supports a per-paycheck running balance plus annual reconciliation, including Hebrew-calendar years.

Before starting to give maaser regularly, poskim recommend declaring that the practice is undertaken 'bli neder' — without the force of a vow. The app records this one-tap declaration with its date at onboarding.

Authorities dispute whether tithing income is a Torah law, a rabbinic enactment, or a custom. The practical consensus treats it as a custom or rabbinic-level duty, which matters for resolving doubtful cases. The app presents positions only; consult your rav.

Maaser is the one area where the Torah invites testing Hashem's blessing (Malachi 3:10) — and the Gemara defines the promised blessing as 'ad bli dai,' beyond sufficiency, not a fixed multiplier. The permission's text is in the REMA at YD 247:4 (not the Mechaber), and its extension to monetary maaser is discussed. The app's tracker visualizes giving versus net worth over time and never promises returns.

Money received as a gift or inheritance counts as maaser income even though it is not taxable income. The Taz (YD 331:32) likewise rejects the claim that a parent's prior tithing exempts money gifted to a child.

Most contemporary authorities hold that investment appreciation is tithed only when sold and the gain is realized. Details (e.g., inherited assets, reinvested dividends) vary — ask your rav. Primary-source citation pending verification.

Only profit is tithed. Borrowed money, reimbursements, internal transfers, and return of your own principal are excluded from maaser income. This follows from the universal definition of maaser as a tithe on revach (profit); a dedicated primary citation is pending.

Maaser is calculated on net profit for the chosen accounting period: losses incurred during the period are subtracted from gains before the tithe is computed.

All forms of earned income — salary, wages, freelance fees, business profits, bonuses, interest and dividends — are subject to maaser. The amount subject to maaser is net profit after legitimate business expenses.

The classic destinations of maaser money are the poor and the support of Torah study. Other charitable uses range from accepted to disputed; recipients in the app are tagged 'qualifies per all views' or 'machlokes.'

Maaser given to genuinely needy relatives is fully valid tzedakah — and relatives in need come first, followed by the local poor (aniyei ircha), then others. The app's recipient directory reflects this priority order.

If you can comfortably afford to support a needy parent, doing so from maaser is strongly condemned (it is kibbud av from your own pocket). If you genuinely cannot, your tzedakah/maaser funds are the halachic measure of your duty and may be used. Ask your rav about your situation.