Zakat is the Third Pillar of Islam — an obligatory annual charitable contribution for every eligible Muslim. The word means both “purification” and “growth.”
It is not optional charity. Zakat is a divinely mandated right of the poor within the wealth of those who have more than enough — with precise rules about who pays, how much, and who receives.
01
الشهادة
Shahada
Declaration of faith
02
الصلاة
Salah
Five daily prayers
03
الزكاة
Zakat
2.5% of net wealth above nisab, held for one lunar year
04
الصوم
Sawm
Fasting during Ramadan
05
الحج
Hajj
Pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime for those who are able
How Zakat works
Four conditions for obligation
Zakat becomes obligatory only when all four conditions are met simultaneously.
01
Be Muslim
Zakat is a religious duty for Muslims only. Non-Muslims are not required to pay, though voluntary charity (Sadaqah) is open to everyone.
02
Reach nisab
Your zakatable wealth must meet or exceed the nisab threshold — the minimum based on the live value of 87.48g of gold or 612.36g of silver.
03
Complete the hawl
Your wealth must remain at or above nisab for one full lunar year (hawl — 354 days). If it drops below, the clock restarts. Each person’s date is individual.
04
Pay 2.5%
Once all conditions are met, pay 2.5% of total net zakatable assets — accumulated wealth above nisab after deducting all legitimate debts.
The threshold
Understanding nisab
Nisab is the minimum wealth a Muslim must possess before Zakat becomes obligatory. It changes daily with gold and silver market prices.
Most scholars recommend the silver standard — a lower threshold meaning more people qualify and more reaches those in need.
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87.48g
Pure gold (24ct)
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Maliki · Shafi’i · Hanbali
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612.36g
Pure silver
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Hanafi — recommended
Gold carat purity guide
Today’s price by carat
The API returns 24ct (pure gold) spot price. Our calculator converts each item automatically based on your carat selection. You enter the total weight of the item — we handle the purity conversion.
Carat
Purity
% pure gold
Price / gram
24ct
999/1000
100%
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22ct
916/1000
91.67%
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21ct
875/1000
87.5%
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18ct
750/1000
75%
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14ct
585/1000
58.5%
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9ct
375/1000
37.5%
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Nisab is always calculated on 87.48g of pure (24ct) gold. Items of lower carat purity are converted to their pure gold equivalent before any nisab or Zakat calculation is performed.
What to include
Zakatable assets
Different types of wealth have different Zakat rules. Here is what to include — and what is always exempt.
2.5% full value
Cash & savings
All cash at home, bank accounts, digital wallets, and money owed to you. Deduct money you owe to others.
2.5% on value
Gold & silver
Calculated per item with your chosen carat (9ct to 24ct). The calculator converts each item to pure gold equivalent using live spot prices. Hanafi: all jewellery included. Other schools: worn jewellery exempt.
2.5% full value
Stocks — active trading
Shares held for short-term profit are trade goods. Pay 2.5% on full market value. Endorsed by FCNA and AAOIFI.
30% proxy method
Stocks — long-term
Long-term investors pay on the company’s zakatable assets. AAOIFI proxy: 30% of market value × 2.5%.
25% proxy method
Mutual funds & ETFs
Take 25% of the total fund value and pay 2.5%. Precious metal ETFs are 100% zakatable.
2.5% full value
Cryptocurrency
All crypto is zakatable at 2.5% of current market value on your zakat date. Treated as cash equivalent.
Net income only
Rental property
The property itself is exempt. Zakat is 2.5% on net rental income after all expenses.
2.5% market value
Property for resale
If purchased with intent to sell, the full current market value is zakatable at 2.5%.
Trade stock (wholesale value) and business cash are zakatable. Machinery, vehicles, and buildings are always exempt.
Deductible
Debts & liabilities
Debts reduce zakatable wealth. Deduct annual installments or full outstanding balance depending on your madhab.
Always exempt
Exempt assets
Primary home, personal vehicles, furniture, clothing, tools of trade, fixed business assets, worn jewellery (non-Hanafi), inaccessible pensions.
Who receives Zakat
Eight recipients
“Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed for it, and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves], and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler — an obligation imposed by Allah.”
— Al-Qur’an, Surah At-Tawbah 9:60
01
الفقراء
Al-Fuqara — The poor
Those with little to nothing; cannot meet basic daily needs.
02
المساكين
Al-Masakin — The needy
Have some income but insufficient to cover essential needs.
03
العاملون
Al-Amileen — Administrators
Those appointed to collect, manage, and distribute Zakat.
04
المؤلفة
Al-Mu’allafah — Reconciled hearts
New Muslims and those inclined toward Islam.
05
الرقاب
Ar-Riqab — The enslaved
Today includes human trafficking victims seeking freedom.
06
الغارمون
Al-Gharimin — The debt-ridden
Those overwhelmed by legitimate halal debt they cannot repay.
07
في سبيل الله
Fi Sabilillah — Cause of God
Humanitarian relief, education, and community projects.
08
ابن السبيل
Ibn As-Sabil — The wayfarer
Stranded travellers; today includes refugees without means.
Live calculator
Calculate your Zakat
6 focused steps with scholarly tips, per-carat gold pricing, and live precious metals data.
Add multiple gold items, each with its own carat selection (9ct through 24ct)
Enter total item weight — purity conversion is automatic using live 24ct spot price
Adapts to your school of thought: Hanafi includes jewellery; other schools exempt worn pieces
Live gold and silver prices fetched from a public metals API on page load
Fully private — all calculations happen in your browser, nothing is sent anywhere
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Silver nisab: Loading… · Gold nisab: Loading…
Running total
Est. Zakat due—
Zakat Calculator Live prices
SettingsCashGold & SilverInvestPropertyDebts
Step 1 of 6
Your settings
These choices shape every calculation. Set your currency, school of thought, and preferences first.
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Why does school of thought matter?
The Hanafi school uses the silver nisab and includes all gold/silver jewellery in Zakat calculations. The other three schools use the gold nisab and exempt daily-worn jewellery. This can significantly change your result. Our calculator adapts every field automatically.
Checking live prices…
All values displayed and calculated in this currency
School of thought (madhab)
Select your school. If unsure, Hanafi is the most widely followed globally.
Hanafi
Silver nisab · All jewellery zakatable
South Asia, Turkey. Hawl: start and end of year.
Maliki
Gold nisab · Worn jewellery exempt
N and W Africa, Gulf. Full hawl required.
Shafi’i
Gold nisab · Worn jewellery exempt
SE Asia, E Africa. Full hawl required.
Hanbali
Gold nisab · Worn jewellery exempt
Saudi Arabia, Gulf. Full hawl required.
Nisab standard
Hanafi uses silver. Most charities recommend silver as it means more people can contribute.
Debt deduction method
How much of your debts to subtract from your zakatable wealth.
Step 2 of 6
Cash & savings
Include all liquid cash you control. If you can spend it today, include it.
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What counts as cash?
Physical cash, current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs, digital wallets (PayPal, Wise, CashApp), and money others owe you that you realistically expect to collect. Do not include salary received after your personal zakat anniversary date.
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Enter the principal of savings accounts only. Any interest earned is impermissible (riba) and should be donated to charity separately — do not include it as zakatable wealth.
Physical notes and coins
£
Current and savings combined
£
Debts you expect to be repaid
£
PayPal, Wise, CashApp etc.
£
Principal amount only (not interest)
£
Step 3 of 6
Gold & silver
Enter each gold item separately with its carat. Enter total weight of the piece — the calculator converts to pure gold value automatically using live prices.
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How to enter gold correctly
Enter the total weight of each piece and select its carat. The calculator multiplies by the live 24ct price and the carat purity factor. Example: a 22ct ring weighing 10g contains 9.17g of pure gold. You enter 10g + select 22ct — the conversion is automatic.
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Hanafi school: enter all gold and silver items including jewellery you wear daily.
Gold items
Add each piece separately. Enter the total physical weight (not just the gold content).
Total gold value: —
Silver
Enter total weight of all silver items combined. Silver purity is generally uniform so no per-item carat entry is needed.
Worn or stored
g
Bars, coins, stored silver
g
Total silver value: —
Combined gold + silver value: —
Step 4 of 6
Investments
Stocks, funds, pensions, ISAs, and cryptocurrency. Leave any field blank if it does not apply.
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Active trader vs. long-term investor
If you buy and sell stocks regularly for short-term profit, you are an active trader — pay 2.5% on the full market value. If you hold shares for years for growth or dividends, pay 2.5% on 30% of the value (the AAOIFI proxy for liquid zakatable assets). When in doubt, the active trader method is more cautious and the safer choice.
How do you hold your stocks?
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Active trader: 2.5% on full portfolio value — endorsed by Zakat Foundation of America.
Total market value on your zakat date
£
Market value of ISA holdings
£
25% proxy applied automatically
£
Full value — all crypto is zakatable
£
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Pension and retirement accounts
AMJA formula: enter the total value and the percentage you could actually withdraw today after penalties and tax. We calculate the accessible zakatable portion automatically. If the pension is inaccessible, pay Zakat on receipt.
Total balance (workplace, SIPP, 401k)
£
e.g. 75 means you receive 75% after deductions
%
Step 5 of 6
Property & business
Rental income, property held for resale, and business trade assets. Your primary home is always exempt.
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What is exempt vs. zakatable in property?
Your primary home is always exempt, no matter what it is worth. A buy-to-let property itself is also exempt, but the net rental income it generates is zakatable at 2.5%. Only property bought specifically to sell carries Zakat on its full market value. Business machinery, equipment, and buildings are always exempt — only trade stock and business cash are zakatable.
Gross rent minus mortgage, maintenance, and agency fees
£
Current market value — buy-to-sell and developers only
£
Trade goods at wholesale value
£
Business bank balance plus debts owed to the business
£
Step 6 of 6
Debts & liabilities
Debts reduce your net zakatable wealth. Enter what you owe — these will be deducted before calculating Zakat.
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Annual installments method selected
Only deduct debt payments actually due within your current zakat year. This is the more cautious scholarly approach. To deduct the full balance, go back to Step 1 and change your debt setting.
Annual installment for this zakat year
£
Total outstanding balance
£
Car finance, personal loans outstanding
£
Outstanding balance
£
Outstanding business liabilities
£
Any other legitimate debts owed
£
Your Zakat result
Using live API prices
Zakat due
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2.5% of net zakatable wealth
Gross zakatable assets
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Total liabilities
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Net zakatable wealth
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Nisab threshold
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Separate obligation
Zakat al-Fitr
Zakat al-Fitr (Fitrana) is a separate compulsory payment due before Eid al-Fitr prayers at the end of Ramadan — entirely distinct from annual Zakat.
It is a fixed per-person amount owed for every Muslim in your household — including infants. Obligatory even if below the annual Zakat nisab.
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Must be paid before the Eid prayer. The NZF UK rate for 2025 is £5/person.
Zakat al-Fitr calculator
Fixed per-person — separate from annual Zakat
£
Total Zakat al-Fitr due
—
Enter details above
Zakat anniversary
Track your hawl
Your hawl is your personal Zakat anniversary. A lunar year is 354 days — enter when you first reached nisab to find your next due date.
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Paying during Ramadan is permissible as early payment regardless of your hawl date.
Hawl date calculator
Find your next Zakat due date
Hawl started
—
Duration
354 days
Next Zakat due date
—
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Note: Uses 354.367 days per lunar year.
Common questions
Understanding your obligation
Zakat rules can seem complex, but the core principles are clear. For unusual financial situations, consult a qualified Islamic scholar.
The API returns the spot price for 24ct (pure) gold. For other carats, we multiply by the purity factor: 22ct = 91.67%, 18ct = 75%, 9ct = 37.5%, and so on. So a 22ct ring weighing 10g is worth the same as 9.167g of pure gold at the current spot price. You always enter the total physical weight of the item, and the calculator handles the conversion. This matches how major Zakat institutions and scholars approach gold valuation.
Yes. The calculator fetches real-time XAU (gold) and XAG (silver) spot prices from the fawazahmed0 currency API (cdn.jsdelivr.net) on every page load. This is a free, open-source API that aggregates forex and metals data. If the live API is unreachable (e.g. no internet connection), the calculator falls back to recent estimates and clearly labels these as estimated values rather than live prices. The API status is shown at the top of the calculator and in your result summary.
Zakat is due on your personal zakat anniversary — the Islamic (Hijri) date on which you first came into possession of the nisab amount. You pay on this same date each year. Many Muslims pay during Ramadan for extra reward, which is permissible as early payment. Each person’s hawl date is individual.
No. Your primary home is always exempt from Zakat regardless of its value. You can also deduct mortgage payments from your other zakatable wealth. Only property purchased specifically for resale is zakatable on its full market value.
This depends on your school of thought. The Hanafi madhab holds that all gold and silver including jewellery worn daily is zakatable. The Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali schools exempt jewellery worn for personal use. Our calculator adjusts automatically based on your madhab selection in Step 1.
Yes. Stocks in ISAs are zakatable. If you are an active trader, pay 2.5% on the full market value. If you are a long-term investor, use the 30% proxy — pay 2.5% on 30% of your ISA value. The ISA tax wrapper has no effect on the Islamic Zakat obligation.
Zakat cannot be given to your direct dependents — spouse, parents, grandparents, children, or grandchildren. You are already financially responsible for them. You can give Zakat to siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and other relatives if they are genuinely eligible — below nisab and in need.
Most scholars and major Islamic charities recommend the silver standard (612.36g silver) because it is a lower threshold, meaning more people qualify. The Hanafi school uses silver. If you follow the other schools, the gold standard (87.48g gold) is your school’s technical position, though using silver is also permissible.
Scholarship & sources
Grounded in authority
Built on verified scholarly consensus from the leading Islamic jurisprudence bodies globally.
Primary scripture
Al-Qur’an 9:60
The definitive Quranic verse establishing the eight categories of Zakat recipients and the obligation itself.
Scholarly standard
AAOIFI No. 35
Governs Zakat on stocks, ETFs and modern financial instruments. The 30% and 25% proxy methods are AAOIFI-endorsed.
Fiqh academy
OIC Fiqh Academy
Resolutions 28 (3/4) and 121 (3/13) on Zakat obligations for stocks and shares investments.
North American authority
FCNA
Fiqh Council of North America. Shaykh Umer Khan’s treatment distinguishing active trading from long-term investment.
Jurists body
AMJA
Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America. Formula for Zakat on pensions and retirement accounts by Dr. Salah Al-Sawy.
Charitable institution
Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief Worldwide (Charity No. 328158). Guidance on nisab calculation and zakatable asset categories.
Charitable institution
Zakat Foundation
Zakat Foundation of America — leading contemporary scholarly resource. zakat.org
Classical text
Fiqh az-Zakat
Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s definitive classical reference on Zakat jurisprudence.
Live market data
fawazahmed0 API
Open-source real-time XAU (gold) and XAG (silver) spot prices via cdn.jsdelivr.net. Fetched fresh on every page load.