Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, and calculating it correctly matters — but the math itself is simpler than it looks once you understand two ideas: Nisab and Zakatable assets.
What is Nisab?
Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a person must have before Zakat becomes obligatory. It's traditionally based on the value of 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver. If your total Zakatable wealth stays above this threshold for one full lunar year, Zakat is due on it — usually at a rate of 2.5%.
What counts as Zakatable wealth?
- Cash in hand and in bank accounts
- Gold and silver (jewellery included, depending on the school of thought you follow)
- Business inventory and trade goods
- Savings, investments and money owed to you that you expect to recover
Zakat generally does not apply to a primary residence, personal vehicles, or household items you use day to day.
Doing the calculation
Add up all your Zakatable assets, subtract any short-term debts you owe, and check whether the remaining amount is above the current Nisab value. If it is, multiply it by 2.5% to get your Zakat due.
Rather than doing this by hand, the Zakat Calculator handles cash, gold, silver and other assets together and works out the amount for you instantly. If you're also settling an estate, the related Inheritance (Mirath) Calculator applies standard Faraid shares the same way.
Both tools run entirely in your browser — nothing about your finances is uploaded anywhere.