Zakat on Savings for Building a Home

Short answer: (1) The saved money: yes — while it sits in hand or bank completing nisab and hawl, zakat is due; the 'for my house' intention grants no exemption. (2) Building materials bought for your own home (rods, bricks, cement): use-assets — no zakat. (3) Money already paid to contractors/masons: spent — outside the books. Details: Fearing yearly zakat will shrink the fund, many convert cash into land/materials early — a legitimate plan for a personal-need home (use-assets carry no zakat); but note that artificial conversion intended to dodge zakat is not the same as genuine progress on a real need — intention is what is judged. And if zakat seems to delay the house, remember: discharging the obligation brings barakah — 'charity does not diminish wealth' (Sahih Muslim 2588). Evidence: Quran 9:103; Ibn Majah 1792 (hawl); Sahih Muslim 2588; Shaykh Ibn Baz and the Permanent Committee on construction/marriage savings vs personal-use goods. For complex individual cases, consult a qualified scholar.