How to use the zakat calculator
- Enter today's prices for gold and silver per gram, in your own currency. The calculator has no live prices, so check them on the day you work out your zakat, for example with a local jeweler or on a zakat organization's nisab page.
- Enter what you own: cash at home and in bank accounts, business stock at its sale price, money people owe you that you expect to be paid, and your gold and silver, either by weight or by value.
- Enter debts and bills that are due now. They are taken off before the nisab is checked.
- Choose the nisab: silver or gold. Under Nisab weights and the lunar year you can also choose between the two sets of weights used by zakat organizations, and confirm that your wealth has been at or above the nisab for a lunar year.
The result updates as you type and shows each part, your zakatable wealth, the nisab and the zakat due. Copy result gives you a plain text summary.
How zakat is worked out
The commonly used method has three steps:
- Add up your zakatable wealth on your zakat date and take off debts that are due.
- Compare it with the nisab, the minimum amount of wealth on which zakat is due.
- If it is at or above the nisab, and you have held that much for a lunar year, pay 2.5% of the whole amount.
The National Zakat Foundation (NZF) in the UK puts the last step simply: as long as you are above the nisab, "one should pay Zakat at 2.5% of the balance". Zakat is due on the whole amount, not only the part above the nisab.
On the lunar year (hawl), Islamic Relief explains that "a hawl (lunar year) is 354 days long". The NZF advises keeping a fixed lunar date for your zakat and working it out on that date each year.
The nisab: gold or silver
The nisab is measured in gold or silver. Islamic Relief gives the weights like this:
"This threshold was set by Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) at a rate equivalent to 85 grams of gold and 595 grams of silver (or 87.48 grams of gold and 612.36 grams of silver according to another opinion)."Islamic Relief Australia, What is Nisab?
The NZF uses 87.48 g and 612.36 g and notes 85 g and 595 g as another opinion. The calculator starts with 85 g and 595 g and lets you switch.
Because silver is far cheaper than gold, the silver nisab is a much lower amount, so more people pass it. Scholars and organizations differ on which to use:
- Islamic Relief notes that "In the Hanafi madhab, the value of silver is used to ascertain the Nisab threshold", while the other schools use gold, and advises its donors to use the silver value.
- The NZF says that if you only have gold, the gold nisab must be used, and if you have a mixture of assets, the silver nisab should be used. It adds that "some scholars still maintain that gold should be used regardless".
The calculator starts with silver, as both organizations advise for most people, and you can switch to gold. If you are not sure which applies to you, ask a scholar you trust.
A worked example
These prices are made up to keep the sums easy: gold at 100 a gram and silver at 1.25 a gram. Use today's real prices for your own zakat.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cash and bank balances | 3,000.00 |
| Gold: 20 g of 22 carat = 20 × 22 ÷ 24 = 18.33 g pure, at 100 a gram | 1,833.33 |
| Money owed to you, expected to be paid | 500.00 |
| Less debts and bills due now | −800.00 |
| Zakatable wealth | 4,533.33 |
| Silver nisab: 595 g × 1.25 | 743.75 |
| Zakat: 4,533.33 × 2.5% | 113.33 |
With the gold nisab instead (85 g × 100 = 8,500.00) the same wealth is below the nisab, so no zakat would be due. That is why the choice matters, and why the calculator shows a note when you pick gold but own more than gold.
At the edge: with the silver nisab of 743.75, wealth of 743.74 is just under it and no zakat is due, while 743.75 is at the nisab and zakat is 18.59.
What counts, and where scholars differ
- Gold and silver. Value them at today's price. Enter the weight and the carat and the calculator counts the pure gold: 22 carat is 22/24 gold. The NZF adds that "Gold below 12 carats is generally not considered zakatable. However, as a precaution (ihtiyatan), it's advisable to include it when calculating Zakat." For silver that is not pure, such as jewelry, enter its value instead of its weight. On jewelry worn regularly, scholars differ. The NZF notes that "According to the Hanafi school, Zakat is due on this gold and silver", while the other schools do not count jewelry for personal use. If you follow a view that does not count it, leave it out.
- Business stock. The NZF says stock bought to sell should be valued at current market price: "For finished goods, this should be their retail sale price."
- Money owed to you. The NZF counts "strong debts, i.e. money that is owed to you that you are confident will be paid". If you are not sure you will be paid, or when, it says you do not need to pay zakat on it until you receive it.
- Debts you owe. This box is for debts and bills that are due now. The NZF also allows some payments due within the coming lunar year to be taken off, and says scholars cite permission to deduct a year's worth of repayments, but only if paying zakat would affect your ability to repay. Ask a scholar how this applies to you.
Some kinds of wealth are not covered here, such as shares and pensions. Zakat organizations publish guidance on these, and a scholar can advise on your own situation.
Questions and answers
What is the zakat rate?
2.5% of your zakatable wealth, once it is at or above the nisab and you have held it for a lunar year. The NZF says that as long as one is above the nisab, one should pay zakat at 2.5% of the balance.
What is the nisab today?
It changes with the price of gold and silver. Multiply 595 g (or 612.36 g) by today's silver price per gram, or 85 g (or 87.48 g) by today's gold price. Enter today's prices and the calculator does it for you.
Should I use the gold or the silver nisab?
Scholars differ. The Hanafi school uses silver and the other schools use gold. The NZF and Islamic Relief both advise the silver nisab for most people, and the NZF says to use gold if gold is your only asset. Ask a scholar you trust if you are unsure.
Is zakat paid on all my money or only the amount above the nisab?
On all of it. Once your zakatable wealth is at or above the nisab, 2.5% is due on the whole amount, not just the part above the nisab.
Do I pay zakat on gold jewelry I wear?
Scholars differ. In the Hanafi school zakat is due on it; the other schools do not count jewelry for personal use. Leave it out of the calculator if the view you follow does not count it.
Does this calculator send my figures anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is saved or sent.
Sources
Checked on 7 October 2026. If a rule has changed, please tell us.
- National Zakat Foundation: Zakat nisab today, what is nisab
- National Zakat Foundation: How to calculate my Zakat?
- National Zakat Foundation: Zakat on gold and silver
- National Zakat Foundation: Zakat on business assets
- National Zakat Foundation: Debts owed to you
- National Zakat Foundation: Which debts can be deducted from my Zakat calculation?
- Islamic Relief Australia: What is Nisab?