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How To Calculate Zakat, Step by Step
Working out your zakat is a straightforward four-step process once you know what counts. This guide walks through it, with a worked example - then our calculator does the arithmetic for you, using today's nisab value.
New to zakat? Start with our complete guide to zakat for the fuller picture.
List your assets
Subtract debts
Compare to nisab
Apply 2.5%
The short version
- List everything zakatable you hold: cash, gold and silver, savings, business stock, and money owed to you that you expect to be repaid.
- Subtract debts and bills due immediately - not long-term debts like a mortgage.
- Compare what is left to the nisab threshold (87.48g gold or 612.36g silver, in today's money).
- If you are above nisab and have held that wealth for one lunar year, pay 2.5% of the total.
- Use our calculator to do the sums with today's prices.
Step 1
List Your Zakatable Assets
Add up everything you hold that zakat applies to:
- Cash - in hand, in current and savings accounts, and money saved towards a goal.
- Gold and silver - jewellery, coins and bullion, valued at current market price.
- Money owed to you that you expect to be repaid - a loan you gave, or a debt someone owes you.
- Business stock and trade goods - valued at their current selling price, not what you paid for them.
- Investments and savings held for growth, where zakat applies to the underlying value.
Not zakatable: your home, your car, clothing, furniture and other items you use rather than hold as wealth. Complex assets such as pensions, cryptocurrency, and business assets held for use rather than trade deserve a scholar's advice, since the right treatment depends on your specific holding.
Step 2
Subtract What You Owe
From your total, subtract debts and bills due immediately - money you owe that is due now or very soon, such as a credit card balance or a bill in hand.
Long-term debts, like the remaining balance on a mortgage, are generally not deducted in full; often only the portion due within the year is counted. This is an area scholars treat with some nuance, so if a large long-term debt is involved, it is worth checking with a scholar how much to deduct.
Step 3
Compare Your Total To Nisab
Nisab is the minimum threshold your zakatable wealth, after debts, must reach before zakat is due. It is fixed in weight, not money: 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver. Because metal prices move daily, there is no fixed pound figure to quote here - our calculator converts both thresholds into today's value automatically.
Honestly said
- Gold or silver nisab - many scholars recommend using the silver threshold, since it is lower and brings more people into paying zakat, meaning more support reaches the poor; others use the gold threshold. Practice varies between communities, and Aid For Mankind does not take a position - check your position against both using the calculator.
If you are below nisab, zakat is not due on you this year - though sadaqah is always welcome.
Step 4
Apply The 2.5% Rate
If your zakatable wealth after debts is at or above nisab, and you have held that level for one full lunar year (hawl), multiply the total by 2.5% (or divide by 40). That figure is your zakat due.
Example
A Worked Example
Suppose Amina has:
- £4,200 in savings
- £600 owed to her by a friend, which she expects back
- Gold jewellery worth £1,800
Total zakatable wealth: £6,600.
She has a credit card bill of £300 due this month, which she subtracts: £6,600 - £300 = £6,300 remaining.
Amina checks our calculator, which converts today's silver nisab into pounds automatically. Her £6,300 is comfortably above that threshold, and she has held this level of wealth for over a year, so zakat is due.
Her zakat: £6,300 × 2.5% = £157.50.
Do the maths
Let Our Calculator Do The Arithmetic
Prefer not to do the sums by hand? Our free zakat calculator takes you through each of these steps, converts nisab into today's pounds automatically, and shows your zakat due in under two minutes.
Common questions
Calculating Zakat - Your Questions Answered
How often do I calculate zakat?
Once a year, on your zakat anniversary - the date your wealth first reached nisab and stayed there for a full lunar year. Many people choose Ramadan as a convenient yearly date, though this is a personal choice, not a requirement.
Do I include my salary when calculating zakat?
Not directly - zakat is calculated on wealth you hold on your zakat date, not on income as it is earned. Salary becomes zakatable once it has been saved and held for a full lunar year alongside your other zakatable wealth.
What if I can't remember exactly when my zakat year started?
Many scholars advise picking a sensible date, such as the first of Ramadan, and using it consistently every year going forward, valuing your zakatable wealth on that date.
Do I pay zakat on jewellery I wear regularly?
This is a point scholars differ on - some hold that gold and silver jewellery is always zakatable regardless of use, others make an exception for jewellery worn regularly. Practice varies between communities, and Aid For Mankind does not take a position; if in doubt, ask a scholar you trust or use the calculator's gold total as a starting point.
What about zakat on a pension or cryptocurrency?
These are complex, fast-changing areas where the right treatment depends on your specific holding. Speak to a scholar with knowledge of contemporary finance rather than relying on a general guide.
Part of our complete guide
Zakat: A Complete UK Guide →Ready when you are
Give Your Zakat
Worked out your figure? You can give your zakat directly. Select Zakat as your cause when you donate. Aid For Mankind operates a 100% donation policy, so your zakat goes directly to those who need it most.
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