What this zakat calculator does
It adds up the wealth that zakat is paid on, takes off the debts you are allowed to deduct, and checks the result against the nisab. If you are at or above the nisab, it shows 2.5% of the balance. Every line of the working is listed, so you can see where each figure came from.
Three things set it apart from the calculators most charities offer:
- Gold and silver by weight. You enter grams and karat (or silver fineness). The calculator works out the pure metal content and values it at the price per gram you type in.
- Both nisab standards at once. The gold nisab and the silver nisab are shown side by side at your prices, and you choose which one decides whether zakat is due.
- Business stock and money owed to you. Traders can enter stock at its sale value and receivables they expect to collect, alongside personal savings.
Prices are never built in. Gold and silver move every day, so you enter today's price per gram in your own currency. The currency menu only changes how amounts are formatted.
How zakat is worked out
Zakat falls due when your zakatable wealth has stayed at or above the nisab for one lunar (hijri) year. The rate is 2.5%, one fortieth.
zakatable wealth = cash + gold value + silver value + business stock + money owed to you + other zakatable assets − deductible debts zakat = 2.5% × zakatable wealth, if zakatable wealth ≥ nisab; otherwise 0Gold and silver
Only the precious metal counts, not stones or the alloy mixed into it. Each item is reduced to its pure content first:
pure gold (g) = weight (g) × karat ÷ 24 fine silver (g) = weight (g) × fineness ÷ 1000So 100 g of 22 karat gold holds 91.667 g of pure gold. Multiply by the price of a gram of 24 karat gold to get its value. Value each karat separately rather than averaging them.
The nisab
The threshold comes from the hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud (1573): zakat on 200 dirhams of silver is five dirhams, and nothing is due on gold until it reaches twenty dinars. Converted to grams, two readings are in common use:
| Reading | Gold | Silver | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mithqal / 200 dirhams | 85 g | 595 g | Many fatwa bodies, including the Federal Territories Mufti's office in Malaysia |
| 7.5 tola / 52.5 tola | 87.48 g | 612.36 g | National Zakat Foundation (UK) and Islamic Relief |
The gap is about how many grams one historical coin weighed. Neither reading is a mistake. Pick the one your scholar or local body follows.
Gold and silver give very different thresholds because silver is far cheaper per gram. The silver nisab is usually a small fraction of the gold one. The National Zakat Foundation recommends the silver standard as safer and better for the poor. Some scholars hold to gold. The calculator defaults to silver and lets you switch.
Business stock and receivables
Stock held for sale is valued at what it would sell for on your zakat date, not at what you paid. NZF says finished goods should be taken at retail sale price; Islamic Relief describes the bulk selling price. For old, slow-moving stock, NZF suggests the price you would happily accept for the whole lot. Unfinished goods count at what they would fetch on your zakat date. Money owed to you counts only when you expect to get it back.
Debts
This calculator follows the National Zakat Foundation's guidance. You may deduct arrears and overdue bills, plus amounts you must pay within the next 12 lunar months: the capital part of a loan's repayments, money you will repay to family or friends, and incurred bills. Interest can never be deducted. Future bills not yet incurred, and debts not due within the year, are not deducted. NZF adds that the deduction is for people whose zakat payment would stop them repaying. If paying zakat would not affect your repayments, it encourages you to deduct nothing, or one month's payments at most.
Jewellery you wear
The Hanafi school holds that zakat is due on all gold and silver, worn or not. The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools exempt jewellery worn for personal use in customary amounts. Gold kept as savings is zakatable in every school. The tick box switches the treatment of worn jewellery only.
Worked example
Aisha lives in Leeds. On her zakat date she has £10,000 in the bank and 100 g of 22 karat gold kept as savings. She owes £2,000 on a credit card bill that is already due. For the example we use a gold price of £96 per gram of pure gold and a silver price of £1.20 per gram. These are round numbers for the sake of the arithmetic, not today's prices.
- Pure gold: 100 × 22 ÷ 24 = 91.667 g.
- Gold value: 91.667 × £96 = £8,800.
- Total assets: £10,000 + £8,800 = £18,800.
- Less debts due now: £18,800 − £2,000 = £16,800.
- Nisab at 85 g / 595 g: gold 85 × £96 = £8,160; silver 595 × £1.20 = £714. £16,800 clears both.
- Zakat: £16,800 × 2.5% = £420.
Now suppose she had only £5,000 in cash and no gold. On the silver standard she is above £714 and pays £125. On the gold standard she is below £8,160 and pays nothing. That single choice decides whether many people with modest savings pay at all, which is why the calculator shows both.
What it does not cover
- It does not track the lunar year for you. Use the balance on your zakat date.
- Pensions, property held to let, crops, livestock and company shares held for dividends have their own rules. Value them separately and use the "other zakatable assets" box only once you know the zakatable amount.
- Precious stones such as diamonds are not zakatable as personal belongings. Stones you buy to sell are business stock.
- Where scholars differ, the page states the view it uses. If you follow a particular scholar, use their settings.