Donate Us

How to Calculate Zakat

Calculating zakat rests on three ideas: the nisab threshold, the hawl (one lunar year), and the 2.5% rate. Add your zakatable assets, subtract short-term debts, check the total against the nisab, and take 2.5%. This guide walks through every step with worked examples, and the calculator below does the arithmetic for you in any currency.

No sign upNothing leaves your deviceFree forever

Fetching live prices
Gold, pure 24 carat
Silver, pure

Spot prices update automatically. Local retail rates can differ, so overwrite either box if your market prices gold higher.

Net zakatable wealth
0
Below nisab
Silver nisab0
Gold nisab0
01Cash and bankEverything liquid on your zakat date0
Cash in hand
Current and savings accounts
Fixed depositsCapital only. Interest is not yours to keep or to pay zakat on.
Digital wallets and prepaid balances
Money set aside for a future purposeHajj savings, a wedding fund, a deposit. Still yours, still zakatable.
Foreign currency heldConverted into your currency
02GoldBy weight and carat, or by value0
By weight
Gold you ownPurity is applied automatically
A second holding, different carat
Of that, worn as personal jewellery
By value
Coins, bars or other gold you already valued
Weight allowances many scholars permit: deduct roughly 2% for stones set into jewellery and about 25% for kundan work, since the setting is not gold. Enter the adjusted weight above.
03SilverJewellery, utensils, artefacts, bullion0
Silver you own
Silver you already valued
Household silver counts in full: cutlery, crockery, trays and decorative pieces. It is not exempt for being in daily use.
04Investments and savingsShares, funds, pensions, crypto0
Shares held to tradeFull market value on your zakat date
Shares held long termEnter the zakatable share of the company's assets if you know it, otherwise use about 25% of market value as a common estimate.
Dividends received and still held
Mutual funds, unit trusts, sukuk
Pension or provident fund, your accessible balanceYour own contributions plus any portion you could withdraw today
CryptocurrencyMarket value on your zakat date
Takaful or insurance, surrender value
Government deposits and refundable securities
05Money owed to youOnly what you expect to actually recover0
Loans you gave to family or friends
Salary, fees or refunds due to you
Rental income received and still held
Leave out anything you have effectively written off. A doubtful debt becomes zakatable in the year it is actually repaid.
06BusinessStock in trade, receivables, payables0
Saleable stock, at landed cost
Damaged or dead stock, at scrap value
Raw materials and finished goods
Owed to you from credit sales
Business cash and bank balances
Less: owed to your suppliers
Less: bad debts written off
Partnership share
Your capital balance, last accounts
Loans you advanced to the firm
Your estimated profit since then
Less: your drawings this year
Premises, machinery, vehicles and fixtures carry no zakat. Only what you bought to sell, and the cash the business holds.
07PropertyHeld to sell, not to live in0
Land or property bought to resellCurrent market value
Not zakatable: the home you live in, however many you own for family use, and property you rent out. Rent you have already collected and still hold does count, and belongs in section 05.
08What you oweDeductible within the next 12 months0
Borrowed money and goods bought on credit
Loan and mortgage instalments due in the next 12 monthsOnly the coming year, not the whole outstanding balance
Rent, utilities and bills already due
Wages owed to staff
Tax due now or overdue
Do not deduct bills that are not yet due, long term debt beyond the next 12 months, or any interest element. Interest is not a debt Islam recognises for this purpose.
09Farm produceUshr, calculated separately0
Ushr is a separate obligation with its own rules. It falls due at every harvest, not once a lunar year, and its threshold is roughly 653 kg of the crop, not the cash nisab. It is kept out of the figure above and reported on its own.
Value of produce watered by rain or springs10%
Value of produce watered by pump, canal or well5%
Value of produce watered by both7.5%
10Grazing livestockPaid in animals, not in cash—
Livestock zakat is not a percentage of value. It follows fixed bands and is paid in animals. Any calculator that charges you 2.5% of your herd's worth is wrong. Enter your numbers and this will tell you what is actually due.
Sheep and goats, free grazing, over one year
Cattle and buffalo, free grazing
Camels, free grazing
Poultry, fish farms and stall fed animals raised to sell are trade stock, not grazing livestock. Put their value in section 06 instead.

Free to use, kept free by people like you

If this helped, help it keep going

This calculator will always be free, with no ads and no account. Your gift keeps it online and supports the work behind it: building tools and media that serve the Muslim community, and supporting the person who maintains them.

This is sadaqah, not zakat. Your zakat belongs to the eight categories entitled to receive it, and this does not count as one. Please pay your zakat to them separately.
Give whatever you wish

You set the amount on PayPal's secure page. No minimum, no card details shared with us, and nothing you typed above travels with it.

Free to use, kept free by people like you

If this helped, help it keep going

This calculator will always be free, with no ads and no account. Your gift keeps it online and supports the work behind it: building tools and media that serve the Muslim community, and supporting the person who maintains them.

This is sadaqah, not zakat. Your zakat belongs to the eight categories entitled to receive it, and this does not count as one. Please pay your zakat to them separately.
Give whatever you wish

You set the amount on PayPal's secure page. No minimum, no card details shared with us, and nothing you typed above travels with it.

Zakat due 0

Your zakat summary

Send it to yourself, or to whoever pays it with you.

The short answer

Add up your zakatable assets, subtract debts due within twelve months, and if the remainder is above the nisab, multiply it by 2.5%. The result is your zakat. It applies only if your wealth has stayed above the nisab for one lunar year. The calculator above does all of this in your currency.

The three building blocks of zakat

Every zakat calculation, however complex the assets, comes down to three ideas. Once you understand these, every asset type becomes straightforward.

  • Nisab is the minimum wealth at which zakat becomes due. Below it, you owe nothing. It equals the value of 87.48g of gold or 612.36g of silver.
  • Hawl is the requirement that your wealth stays above the nisab for one full lunar year before zakat falls due.
  • The rate is a fixed 2.5%, or one fortieth, of your net zakatable wealth.

The Qur'an commands it plainly: "Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them" (Surah At-Tawbah 9:103). Zakat is not voluntary charity; it is an obligation and one of the five pillars of Islam. For the live threshold in your currency, see our Nisab Today page.

Step 1: Total your zakatable assets

Add up everything you own that zakat applies to, valued at today's market price:

  • Cash in hand, in current and savings accounts, in digital wallets, and in foreign currency
  • Gold and silver, valued at the current market rate for their weight and purity
  • Shares and investments, including funds, sukuk, and the accessible part of pensions
  • Cryptocurrency, at its market value on your zakat date
  • Money owed to you that you genuinely expect to recover
  • Business stock and goods bought to resell, at cost
  • Property bought to resell, at market value, and rent already received

What you do not count: your home, your car, your furniture, your clothes, tools of your trade, and any personal belongings. These are exempt because they are for use, not accumulation.

Step 2: Subtract your short-term debts

From your total assets, deduct the debts you must pay within the next twelve months. This includes credit card balances, the coming year of loan or mortgage instalments, rent and bills already due, wages you owe, and tax payable now. You may not deduct the full balance of a long-term loan such as an entire mortgage, bills not yet due, or any interest element. In the Shafi'i school, debts are not deducted at all. See our guide on zakat on cash and debts for detail.

Step 3: Compare to the nisab

Take your net figure, assets minus debts, and compare it to the nisab. If it is below, no zakat is due this year. If it is equal to or above, zakat is obligatory. Most scholars recommend using the silver nisab, which is lower, because it brings more people into the obligation and sends more to the needy. The calculator lets you choose gold or silver and shows both.

Step 4: Take 2.5%

Multiply your net zakatable wealth by 0.025. That is your zakat. A useful shortcut: 2.5% is one fortieth, so you can simply divide your wealth by 40. On 18,000 of net wealth, zakat is 450.

A full worked example

Aisha holds 8,000 in savings, gold worth 4,000, and shares worth 6,000, giving 18,000 in assets. She owes 1,000 on a credit card and 1,000 in rent due this month, so 2,000 in short-term debts. Her net wealth is 16,000. The silver nisab that day is about 1,100, so she is well above it. Her zakat is 16,000 × 2.5% = 400.

Worked examples by asset type

Cash: the simplest. Every unit you hold is zakatable at 2.5%. On 20,000 saved, zakat is 500.

Gold: weigh it, adjust for carat purity, value at the gold price, take 2.5%. See Zakat on Gold for the full method.

Shares held to trade: full market value is zakatable. Shares held long term: most scholars apply zakat to roughly a quarter to a third of the value, reflecting the company's liquid zakatable assets. See Zakat on Shares and Crypto.

Pensions: zakat is generally due on the portion you could access. A common cautious approach for a locked pension is 2.5% of about 30% of its value.

Business: stock at cost, plus business cash and receivables, minus what you owe suppliers. Premises and machinery are exempt.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Using last year's nisab. The threshold moves with metal prices; always use today's figure.
  • Forgetting Hajj or wedding savings. Money set aside for a future purpose is still zakatable.
  • Deducting a whole mortgage. Only the coming year of instalments is deductible, not the full balance.
  • Missing gold jewellery. In the Hanafi school it is always zakatable; see Zakat on Gold Jewellery.
  • Ignoring the lunar year. Zakat follows the Islamic calendar, about eleven days shorter than the solar year.

When do I pay, and to whom?

Zakat is due on your zakat date, the anniversary of when your wealth first passed the nisab. Many choose a date in Ramadan for its ease and reward. It must go to one of the eight categories named in the Qur'an; see who can receive zakat. Giving to a cause outside those categories counts as sadaqah, not zakat, and does not discharge the obligation.

Related tools and guides

Use the full Zakat Calculator to combine every asset at once, or the focused calculators for gold, silver, cash and shares and crypto. For your country's currency and rates, see the Pakistan, UK and India pages.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my zakat?

Add up your zakatable assets, subtract debts due within twelve months, and if the remainder is above the nisab, multiply it by 2.5%. That figure is your zakat.

What is the formula for zakat?

Zakat = (total zakatable assets - short-term debts) x 2.5%, but only if the net figure is at or above the nisab and held for one lunar year.

What is 2.5% of my savings?

Divide your net zakatable savings by 40, or multiply by 0.025. On 10,000 that is 250; on 100,000 it is 2,500.

Which assets are zakatable?

Cash, bank balances, gold, silver, shares, crypto, money owed to you, business stock, and property bought to resell. Your home, car, furniture and personal belongings are not.

Which debts can I subtract?

Debts due within the next twelve months. Long-term debt beyond twelve months and interest are not deductible.

Do I calculate zakat on gross or net wealth?

On net wealth. Subtract short-term debts from assets first, then compare to the nisab and apply 2.5%.

This guide gives a reliable method for ordinary situations and is not a substitute for a scholarly ruling. For a complex estate, business, or inheritance, consult a qualified scholar.