Guide

How to calculate your zakat

Zakat is worked out from three things: what you own, the nisab threshold, and a full lunar year of holding it. Here is the method, step by step.

Last updated: 8 September 2026

Zakat al-Maal, not Zakat al-Fitr — This page is about Zakat al-Maal — the annual due on wealth, Islam's third pillar. It is distinct from Zakat al-Fitr, a separate obligatory charity that completes the Ramadan fast (roughly 2.5 to 3 kg of staple food per household member, due before the Eid prayer) — never a percentage of wealth. This calculator does not cover Zakat al-Fitr.

Who is concerned?

Any adult whose zakatable wealth (short-term debts deducted) reaches or exceeds the nisab for a full lunar year. Below that threshold, or over a shorter period, nothing is due.

What goes into the calculation

Cash, current and savings accounts, gold and silver held, liquid investments, money lent out that you genuinely expect to get back. Debts due in the short term are deducted from the total.

Counted: cash, savings, gold, silver, investments
Generally not counted: your primary home, your personal car and furniture, a work tool you use (and don't hold for resale)

The rate: 2.5%

Once the base is established, the rate applied is fixed: 2.5%, or one fortieth of the total. It doesn't vary with the amount or the year.

The nisab: the threshold to reach

The nisab is 87.48 g of gold or 612.36 g of silver (one of two conversions in use — see the dedicated article), converted to euros at today's price. Both references exist and diverge considerably — enough to change who is liable at all.

The hawl: one lunar year of holding

Reaching the nisab on a given day isn't enough: you have to hold it for a full hawl, 354 days. This starting point has nothing to do with Ramadan — many choose that month to pay by preference, not because the date is required.

Worked example

Someone holds €8,000 in cash and €1,500 in gold, with €500 of short-term debt. Zakatable base: 8,000 + 1,500 − 500 = €9,000. With a silver nisab around €1,080, the threshold is clearly passed: zakat due is 9,000 × 2.5% = €225.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay on the same amount every year?

No — the base is recalculated each year on what you actually hold at the end of the hawl, not on a fixed amount.

Can I pay in instalments?

Many do, for practical reasons. What matters is that the full amount due is paid before the delay becomes significant.

Sources

The figures and rules cited in this article, for verification.

The exact figure takes a year of tracking

Zakat is owed on the minimum amount you held across the whole lunar year — not on today's balance. Wazn tracks that minimum month after month and tells you what you actually owe, on the date you owe it.