Zakat Calculator

How zakat on wealth works

Zakat al-mal is the annual 2.5% due on savings and trading wealth. Two conditions must both be met: your net zakatable wealth reaches the nisab, and you have held wealth at or above the nisab for one lunar year, the hawl (about 354 days). Most people fix a date on the Hijri calendar – often in Ramadan – and value everything on that day each year, rather than tracking each deposit separately.

The nisab comes from the hadith: 20 mithqal of gold or 200 dirhams of silver. Converting those ancient weights to grams gives two conventions, and the calculator offers both:

Some Saudi fatwas, including one by Sheikh Ibn Baz, put the gold nisab higher, at about 92 g. Whichever weight you follow, use it consistently every year.

Net zakatable wealth = Cash + Gold + Silver + Investments + Business stock + Money owed to you − Debts due now · Zakat = Net wealth × 2.5% if Net wealth ≥ Nisab

Gold or silver: the choice that matters most

The two metals give very different thresholds. At late-October 2026 spot prices – about AED 6.40 a gram for silver and AED 470 a gram for 24k gold – the nisab works out as follows:

The gold threshold is more than ten times the silver one. Anyone holding between roughly AED 4,000 and AED 40,000 owes zakat on the silver basis and nothing on the gold basis. The Hanafi school uses silver for cash, and many scholars of other schools prefer it for savings because it brings more money to people in need; others apply the gold nisab to everyone, arguing that it better reflects what counts as wealth today. The calculator loads today’s price in your currency – these figures move every day.

Worked examples

A Dubai household: AED 63,000 after bills

On their zakat date a couple hold AED 45,000 in the bank, gold worth AED 12,000 kept as savings and shares worth AED 10,000 – AED 67,000 in all. Rent and a credit-card bill of AED 4,000 are due now.

• Net zakatable wealth: 67,000 − 4,000 = AED 63,000
• Silver nisab (595 g × AED 6.40): AED 3,808 – far exceeded
• Zakat: 63,000 × 2.5% = AED 1,575

AED 20,000 of savings: silver versus gold

On the silver basis the AED 20,000 is above the AED 3,808 nisab, so zakat is AED 500. On the gold basis the same savings sit below the AED 39,950 nisab and nothing is due. This single choice decides whether many young expats pay zakat at all.

A Riyadh shop: zakat on trading stock

A small trader values unsold stock at SAR 150,000 at selling price, holds SAR 30,000 in cash and expects SAR 10,000 from customers, and owes suppliers SAR 20,000 now. Net wealth is SAR 170,000, far above the silver nisab of SAR 3,980.34 (612.36 g × SAR 6.50), so zakat is SAR 4,250. Shop fittings, vehicles and the premises are not counted – only goods held for sale.

What counts and what doesn’t

• Counted: cash at home and in banks or wallets, gold and silver kept as savings, bars and coins, shares and funds at market value, crypto, business stock at selling value, and loans you expect to be repaid.
• Not counted: your home, car, furniture and clothes, business equipment, and money you cannot yet touch.
• Jewellery you wear: zakatable in the Hanafi school and some Saudi fatwas; exempt for most Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali scholars when worn in normal amounts. If you include it, value it by its gold content, not the shop price with making charges.
• End-of-service gratuity and pensions: an entitlement your employer has not yet paid is not in your hands; many scholars count it only once you receive it.
• Shares held long term: trading shares are valued at market price; for long-term holdings some scholars allow zakat on only the company’s zakatable assets per share. Ask a scholar if this is a large part of your wealth.

Rules that change the amount

• Debts due now come off first. Bills and instalments due on your zakat date reduce the total; the remaining balance of a mortgage or car loan does not.
• The hawl resets only if you drop below the nisab. Money that arrived last week is counted with the rest on your zakat date – you do not need a separate year for each deposit.
• Pakistan deducts at source. Banks take 2.5% of the whole balance – not just the excess – from savings and profit-and-loss sharing accounts on 1 Ramadan when the balance is at or above the notified nisab (Rs 503,529 for 1447 AH). Zakat already deducted counts towards what you owe on those accounts.
• The UAE regulates collection. Since 14 January 2026, Federal Law No. 4 of 2025 lets only authorised entities collect zakat, so give through the national platform, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat or a licensed charity.
• Saudi businesses file with ZATCA. Company zakat follows ZATCA’s own rules and base calculation, not this personal method.

Common mistakes

• Paying 2.5% of monthly salary instead of 2.5% of what is held on the zakat date.
• Comparing wealth with a nisab figure that is months old – metal prices move every day.
• Deducting a whole mortgage, which can wipe out zakat that is genuinely due.
• Valuing jewellery at purchase price, or forgetting money lent to relatives that you expect back.
• Switching between the gold and silver basis from year to year to pay less.

When to ask a scholar

Ask a qualified scholar or your country’s zakat authority if you own a business, hold large long-term share portfolios, pension plans you can withdraw early, rental property, or debts in both directions, or if you have missed zakat for past years. This calculator applies the common method; it is not a fatwa.

Estimates for general information as of October 2026. Prices in the examples are late-October 2026 spot prices; the calculator uses today’s.

Estimates for educational purposes, not financial or tax advice.