Zakat Calculator

What is Zakat?

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, an annual act of worship in which a Muslim gives a fixed share of their accumulated wealth to those entitled to receive it. It is not a voluntary donation but an obligation on every adult Muslim whose wealth reaches a minimum level. The word itself carries the meaning of purification and growth: giving Zakat is understood to purify the remaining wealth and the heart of the giver. Because it is calculated on wealth that has been held over time rather than on income, Zakat works very differently from an ordinary tax, and a calculator helps you apply the rules consistently.

The 2.5 percent rate

The standard rate of Zakat on money and trade goods is 2.5 percent, which is one fortieth of your net zakatable wealth. This rate has been applied consistently for centuries and is the figure this calculator uses. It applies to cash, gold, silver, business inventory, and investments held for growth. A small number of other categories, such as certain farm produce and livestock, follow different rates and rules and are outside the scope of this tool, which focuses on the monetary wealth that most people need to calculate.

What is Nisab?

Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a person must own before Zakat becomes due. If your net wealth on your Zakat date is below the Nisab, no Zakat is owed for that year. The Nisab is defined by the value of a set weight of precious metal: 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver. Because metal prices move daily, the Nisab in your local currency is not a fixed number, which is why this calculator asks for the current gold and silver price per gram and works the threshold out for you.

Gold Nisab versus silver Nisab

The gold and silver thresholds rarely produce the same value, because the two metals are priced very differently. In modern times the silver Nisab is almost always the lower figure. Using the lower, silver-based Nisab means more people qualify to pay Zakat and more of the poor receive it, which is why many scholars and Zakat bodies recommend it as the careful, generous choice. The calculator shows both thresholds and defaults the comparison to the lower one, but it lets you see each figure so you can follow the view you have been advised to take.

What wealth is zakatable

Zakatable wealth includes cash in hand and in bank accounts, the market value of gold and silver you own in any form, the value of business stock and goods bought for resale, investments and shares held for growth or trading, and money lent to others that you reasonably expect to be repaid. Your personal home, the car you drive, household furniture, and tools of your trade are not zakatable, because Zakat is charged on surplus wealth rather than on the things you use day to day. The calculator gives each zakatable category its own field so you can value them one at a time.

Liabilities you can deduct

Zakat is due on net wealth, so genuine debts reduce the amount you owe. You may deduct money you owe that is currently due, such as an overdue loan repayment, this month's rent or utility bills, and short-term debts that have fallen due. Long-term debts like a multi-year mortgage are usually handled differently, with many scholars allowing only the upcoming payment to be deducted rather than the whole outstanding balance. Enter the liabilities that are genuinely due now, and the calculator subtracts them from your assets to find your net zakatable wealth.

The lunar year and your Zakat anniversary

Zakat is paid once every lunar (Hijri) year, which is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. Your Zakat becomes due when your wealth has stayed at or above the Nisab for one full lunar year. The day this first happened becomes your personal Zakat anniversary, and you calculate and pay on that same date each year. If your wealth dips below the Nisab during the year and then rises again, scholars differ on how to treat it, but the simple and common approach is to pick a fixed Hijri date and calculate your total wealth on that day every year.

Who must pay Zakat

Zakat is obligatory on every adult Muslim of sound mind who owns wealth above the Nisab that has been held for a lunar year. It is not required from someone whose wealth is below the threshold, nor from those who are themselves eligible to receive Zakat. The Quran names eight categories of people who may receive it, including the poor, the needy, and those in debt. When you pay, you can give directly to an eligible person or through a trusted charity that distributes Zakat on your behalf.

How to use this Zakat calculator

Start by entering the value of each asset you own in the asset fields, leaving any that do not apply at zero. Next, enter the debts and bills that are due in the liability fields. Then enter the current price of gold and silver per gram so the calculator can compute both Nisab thresholds. The tool subtracts your liabilities from your assets to find your net zakatable wealth, compares it against the Nisab, and tells you whether Zakat is due. When it is, it shows 2.5 percent of your net wealth as the amount to give. Because every figure updates live, you can adjust any number and watch the result change at once.

Zakat on gold and jewellery

Gold is one of the most common sources of confusion. The value used for Zakat is the current market value of the gold itself, not the price you originally paid and not the resale price a jeweller might offer. Most scholars hold that gold jewellery a woman wears is still zakatable, though a minority view exempts jewellery in regular personal use, so this is a point to confirm with your own scholar. To value your gold accurately, weigh it, note its karat, and use a current gold price. The companion Gold Price Calculator can turn a weight and karat into a value you can then enter here.