Formula
What is zakat and who must pay it?
Zakat (الزكاة) is one of the five pillars of Islam - an annual, sharia-mandated charitable contribution paid by Muslims whose wealth exceeds the nisab threshold and has been held for a full lunar year (hawl). It's not a tax; it's an act of worship and a means of redistributing wealth to those in need. The rate is fixed at 2.5% (a quarter of one-tenth, ربع العشر) of zakatable wealth. Every adult, sane, free Muslim with sufficient wealth must pay - and once paid, it purifies the remaining wealth. The Quran (9:60) defines the eight categories of recipients.
The five conditions for zakat
Zakat becomes obligatory when ALL five conditions are met: (1) the payer is Muslim, (2) free (historically; not a slave), (3) of sound mind and majority age (per most scholars), (4) owns the full nisab (currently ~85g of gold's value in your currency, or the equivalent in silver, cash, stocks, or other zakatable assets), and (5) the wealth has been continuously owned for one full lunar year (hawl, ~354 days). If any condition is missing, zakat is not due this year. The calculator above checks conditions 4 and 5; you must verify 1-3 yourself.
Nisab thresholds - gold vs silver
Nisab is the minimum wealth threshold below which no zakat is due. Historically: 85 grams of gold (or 20 mithqal) or 595 grams of silver (or 200 dirhams). In today's currencies, the gold-based nisab is much higher than the silver-based nisab - meaning more people meet the silver threshold than the gold one. There are two scholarly conventions: (A) use the gold nisab (more restrictive - fewer pay), (B) use the lesser of gold or silver (more inclusive - more pay, more reaches the poor). The calculator uses convention B, which is the majority modern preference, and ZATCA's default for corporate zakat assessment in Saudi Arabia.
What wealth is zakatable
Zakatable wealth (الأموال الزكوية) includes: cash and bank savings (regardless of currency), gold and silver (whether jewelry, bullion, coins - though some scholars exempt regularly-worn jewelry, and the calculator follows the conservative inclusive default), tradeable investments (stocks at market value, mutual funds, sukuk), business inventory ready for sale, and sound debts (money owed to you that you reasonably expect to receive). Non-zakatable: your home, car, daily-use clothing, tools of your trade, fixed business assets (machinery, buildings used in operations), and salary you're owed but haven't yet received.
Gold karat - converting to pure-gold equivalent
Zakat on gold is based on the pure gold content, not the gross weight of jewelry. So 100g of 22K gold contains 100 × 0.917 = 91.7g of pure gold; 100g of 18K contains 100 × 0.75 = 75g pure. Convert each piece of gold to its pure-gold equivalent, sum them, and value at today's 24K spot price (since 24K is essentially pure). Some jewelers and apps report the karat already. The calculator handles karat conversion automatically - just enter weight and karat, and it computes the pure-gold equivalent and SAR value.
Hawl, intention, and how to pay
The hawl (one full lunar year of continuous ownership above nisab) must elapse before zakat is due. Many Muslims fix their zakat date in Ramadan for spiritual reasons (the reward of fasting + zakat). Others fix it on the Islamic new year (1 Muharram) or their own personal hawl anniversary. Once due, zakat can be paid as money (most common) or in kind (e.g., 2.5% of gold weight delivered in gold). Recipients are the eight categories defined in the Quran (9:60): the poor, the needy, zakat collectors, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, slaves seeking freedom, debtors, travelers in need, and those striving in God's path.
Frequently asked questions
2.5% - fixed by sharia (a quarter of one-tenth, ربع العشر). Applied to your net zakatable wealth (assets minus debts) IF you've owned that wealth above the nisab threshold for one full lunar year (hawl, ~354 days). The rate is non-negotiable; the only question is what counts as zakatable.
It depends on today's gold and silver prices. At AED 290/g for 24K gold: gold nisab = 85 × 290 = SAR 24,650. At SAR 3.5/g silver: silver nisab = 595 × 3.5 = SAR 2,083. The calculator uses the LESSER of the two (silver nisab, ~SAR 2,000-3,000 in 2026) - the more inclusive approach favored by ZATCA and most modern scholars. So if your net wealth is above the silver-nisab equivalent, zakat is due.
Scholarly opinion varies. The majority view (and the safer approach our calculator follows by default) is that all gold above the nisab is zakatable, regardless of whether it's worn jewelry or stored bullion. A minority opinion (Hanafi and some Maliki scholars) exempts jewelry intended for regular personal use, distinguishing it from accumulated wealth. If you follow the exemption view, simply don't include worn jewelry in the 'gold weight' field.
Yes - stocks held for investment (long-term holding) are zakatable at their current MARKET value times 2.5%. Stocks held for trading (frequent buying/selling) are zakatable like business inventory at full market value. Distinction matters: a stock held 5 years yields zakat on current market price; a stock held one month before selling is zakat-on-sale-proceeds-into-cash. For mutual funds and ETFs, the same logic applies - use today's NAV (net asset value).
Generally no for spouses, parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren - because supporting them is already your sharia obligation. But yes for siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, and other extended family, IF they're poor or needy and qualify as recipients per the Quranic categories (9:60). Many scholars say it's actually preferable to give to needy relatives over strangers, as it combines two acts: zakat + maintaining family ties.
Sources
- ZATCA - Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (Saudi Arabia)— Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Zakat fatwas - Sheikh Ibn Baz official portal— binbaz.org.sa
- IslamWeb Fatwa Centre - Zakat calculations and rulings— IslamWeb
- Islamic Fiqh Academy - Zakat resolutions— Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
Did we solve your problem today?
