Zakat calculator
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam — an annual, obligatory purification of wealth. This calculator works out the 2.5% due on net zakatable wealth, payable once it reaches the nisab threshold and has been held for one full lunar (hijri) year.
How it works
The tool runs three steps:
- Net wealth = zakatable assets − deductible liabilities (debts due), floored at zero.
- Nisab threshold = the gram weight of your chosen metal × its current price per gram. Nisab is the value of 87.48 g of gold or 612.36 g of silver; the silver basis gives a lower threshold, so more givers qualify.
- Zakat due = net wealth × 2.5%, but only if net wealth is at or above nisab. Below nisab, nothing is owed.
You supply the live metal price per gram, so the nisab reflects today’s market.
Example
Suppose you hold 10,000 in zakatable assets with no debts due, choose the silver basis, and silver is 0.80 per gram. Nisab = 612.36 × 0.80 = 489.89. Your 10,000 is well above that, so zakat = 10,000 × 0.025 = 250.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Zakatable assets | 10,000 |
| Deductible liabilities | 0 |
| Nisab (silver, 0.80/g) | 489.89 |
| Zakat due (2.5%) | 250 |
All figures stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded or stored. Verify the current metal price and your local scholarly guidance for your exact circumstances.
What counts as a zakatable asset
Scholars broadly agree on the following categories:
- Cash and bank balances — money in current and savings accounts.
- Gold and silver — physical bullion, jewellery held primarily as an investment, and gold/silver-backed financial instruments. Jewellery worn regularly is treated differently across scholarly traditions; check your own authority’s ruling.
- Trade goods — inventory held for resale at its current market value, not its purchase price.
- Receivables — money genuinely expected to be recovered (loans to creditworthy borrowers, salary owed by a solvent employer). Doubtful debts are usually excluded.
- Stocks and shares — generally the zakatable portion of each company’s underlying assets, though many contemporary scholars also accept the market value of liquid shares held for resale.
- Agricultural produce, livestock, and minerals — governed by separate rates and nisab levels in classical fiqh; the 2.5% rate applies to monetary wealth and trade goods.
What can be deducted
Liabilities that are immediately due — short-term debts, outstanding bills, current-period instalments — are commonly deducted from zakatable assets before calculating the 2.5%. Long-term debts such as a mortgage are more contested: many scholars permit deducting only the instalments currently due, not the entire outstanding balance. Follow your local scholarly guidance on this point.
The haul (hawl) — the one-lunar-year condition
Zakat is not triggered by crossing the nisab in a single moment — the wealth must be at or above nisab continuously for a full lunar (hijri) year. A common practical approach is to set a personal zakat anniversary date and assess nisab and net wealth at that same date each year. If wealth dips below nisab mid-year and then recovers, many scholars restart the hawl from the recovery date.
Gold vs silver nisab: which to choose?
Because gold commands a much higher price per gram than silver, the silver nisab threshold translates to a substantially lower monetary value. Using the silver nisab means more people qualify to give and more wealth is subject to purification. The scholarly consensus leans toward silver as the more socially beneficial choice, but follow your local authority’s guidance.