How to Calculate Your Zakat: the Complete Calculator Guide

Zakat is the annual 2.5% purification of accumulated wealth — the third pillar of Islam — and calculating it comes down to one question: do the assets you have held for a full lunar year cross the *nisab* threshold? If they do, you pay 2.5% on the total. Formal zakat collection runs to roughly USD 15 billion a year worldwide (Netversity/IBF Net, 2025), and Saudi Arabia's ZATCA alone collected SAR 16 billion — about USD 4.27 billion — in 2024. This guide works through every asset type, today's nisab figure, the deductions you are allowed, and a single formula you can apply in five minutes.

What is zakat, and who has to pay it?

Zakat is the obligatory annual charity on wealth — one of the five pillars of Islam — paid by any adult Muslim whose net zakatable assets exceed the *nisab* threshold and have been held for one full lunar year (*hawl*). It is a fixed religious duty, not a voluntary donation, and any zakat unpaid in your lifetime becomes a debt that your estate must settle before any inheritance is distributed.

The word itself means "purification": paying it cleanses the remaining wealth. Because unpaid zakat is a debt on the estate, it belongs in the same written record as your bank loans and personal debts — which is why WiseEnding's Debt Anchor treats owed zakat as a first-priority obligation, not an afterthought.

How much is zakat — is it always 2.5%?

Yes. The standard zakat rate on cash, gold, silver, trade goods and investments is 2.5% — one-fortieth of your zakatable wealth. This rate is established by scholarly consensus (*ijma*) and the Prophetic hadith, and is applied uniformly by government zakat bodies such as Malaysia's state zakat agencies (MAIPs) and major fatwa authorities including Islamweb. There is no serious disagreement on the 2.5% rate for financial assets.

A few agricultural and livestock assets carry different rates, but for the wealth most people hold — savings, gold, shares, a business, rental income — 2.5% is the figure.

What is the nisab, and how do you work it out today?

The *nisab* is the minimum wealth threshold above which zakat becomes due, and it is pegged to the value of either 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver. As of late July 2026, with gold near $4,082 per troy ounce (about $131 per gram), the 85-gram gold nisab equals roughly $11,174; the 595-gram silver nisab is far lower, around $1,120. The 85-gram gold threshold is the standard used by AMJA, ISNA and the Fiqh Council.

Which metal you use matters. The majority of scholars follow the gold nisab, so only wealth above roughly $11,174 is zakatable. The Hanafi school permits following the silver nisab, which qualifies far more people at the much lower ~$1,120 threshold. Many scholars recommend using silver so that more of the poor are reached, but if you use silver one year you should be consistent the next.

Which assets do you pay zakat on?

You pay zakat on wealth that is fully owned, growing or available, and held above the nisab for a full lunar year. The common zakatable assets are:

1. Cash and bank savings — all currencies, current and savings accounts, and cash on hand.
2. Gold and silver — jewellery, coins and bars, whether worn or stored.
3. Stocks and investments — shares held for trade or growth (see the two-bucket rule below).
4. Trade goods and business inventory — stock held for sale at market value.
5. Rental income and property held for resale — but not a home you live in.
6. Pensions and endowments — once accessible or vested, depending on the structure.
7. Debts owed to you — money you expect to recover that is secure and due.

A primary residence, personal car, household furnishings and tools of your trade are not zakatable. Wealth below the nisab, or held for less than a hawl, is not due either.

How do you calculate zakat on cash and savings?

Add up every liquid balance — current accounts, savings accounts, cash on hand, and any currency you hold — on your zakat date. If the total alone, or together with your other zakatable assets, exceeds the nisab and has been held for a hawl, pay 2.5% on it. Foreign currency is valued at the rate on your zakat day.

How do you calculate zakat on gold and jewellery?

Weigh all your gold and silver (jewellery, coins, bars) and value it at today's spot price per gram, then add it to your other zakatable assets. If the combined total is above the nisab, pay 2.5% on the gold's current market value — not what you paid for it. There is no separate "jewellery discount": ornamental gold is zakatable at full weight. For the full gold walkthrough, see our dedicated gold zakat guide and the gold nisab threshold explainer.

How do you calculate zakat on stocks and investments?

Apply the two-bucket rule. If you hold shares purely to trade them for profit, pay 2.5% on their full current market value. If you hold shares as a long-term investment in a business whose assets are themselves zakatable, pay 2.5% only on your share of the business's zakatable assets (cash, receivables, inventory) — not on fixed assets or goodwill. Most retail investors in a diversified portfolio take the simpler first route. The full method is in our zakat on stocks and investments guide.

How do you calculate zakat on property and rental income?

A home you live in is never zakatable. Property you own to resell is trade goods: value it at market price and pay 2.5%. Rental income you have received and held for a hawl is zakatable at 2.5%, but the building itself — if you hold it for rental yield, not resale — is not. Save accumulated rent across the year and pay on the balance held on your zakat date. Full detail is in our zakat on property and real estate guide.

What about debts you owe — can you deduct them?

Yes, but only short-term, immediate debts — money you owe right now that is due to be paid. Deduct them from your zakatable total before applying 2.5%. Long-term loans (a mortgage, multi-year financing) are handled differently: most scholars deduct only the instalment due in the next twelve months, not the whole principal. Money you hold that belongs to someone else (a trust, an unpaid bill) is also deducted, because it is not truly yours.

This is where a living debt register changes the calculation. If your debts are scattered across notes and memory, you will either over-pay (forgetting a deduction) or under-pay (forgetting a debt to a friend). The WiseEnding Debt Anchor exists to hold the full, current list in one encrypted place so the figure you deduct is the real one — and so, after you are gone, your executor settles those debts from the estate before any inheritance is touched.

Is there a simple zakat calculator formula?

Yes. Five steps:

1. List every zakatable asset and its current value on your zakat date.
2. Add them up to get your total zakatable wealth.
3. Subtract immediate short-term debts owed right now.
4. Check the net against the nisab (roughly $11,174 by the gold standard, late July 2026). If it is above the threshold, zakat is due.
5. Pay 2.5% of the net zakatable total.

A worked example. Sara has $20,000 in savings, 100 grams of gold (about $13,100 at $131/g), and $5,000 in stocks. She owes $3,000 on a credit card due now. Her zakatable total is ($20,000 + $13,100 + $5,000) − $3,000 = $35,100. That is well above the nisab, so her zakat is 2.5% × $35,100 = $877.50.

When should you pay, and to whom?

Zakat is due once a full lunar year (*hawl*) has passed since your wealth first reached the nisab — many people fix a single annual zakat date. It must go to the eight categories of recipients named in the Quran (Surah at-Tawbah 9:60), with the poor and needy first. You can pay through a registered zakat agency or directly to an eligible person.

Paying zakat does not stop you from giving more. Sadaqah jariyah — ongoing charity such as a water well, an endowment, or a scholarship — is the voluntary multiplier that keeps giving after you are gone, and it sits naturally alongside the one-third *wasiyya* bequest in an Islamic will. See our sadaqah jariyah guide and the Islamic will guide.

How WiseEnding helps you stay zakat-ready

WiseEnding is built so that the calculation above takes an afternoon, not a panic. The Debt Anchor holds every amount you owe — including unpaid zakat from past years — so your deduction is honest and your estate settles religious dues first. The Family Vault stores your asset inventory, your will, and your zakat records encrypted on your device, released only on a verified missed check-in, so your executor finds the numbers without guessing. And My World lets you direct your sadaqah jariyah while you are alive — because the best time to give is now, and the best record is the one your family can actually find.