Zakat FAQ

Zakat is an obligatory form of charity and one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Each year, a Muslim whose wealth is at or above the Nisab gives 2.5% of their zakatable wealth to people who are entitled to receive it. Zakat purifies the wealth that remains and supports those in need.

Zakat is due from an adult, sane Muslim who owns zakatable wealth at or above the Nisab for one full lunar (Hijri) year. Scholars differ on whether Zakat is due on children's wealth (see below).

Zakat is 2.5% of your zakatable wealth, after deducting debts due within the next 12 months. If your zakatable wealth is $10,000 and that is at or above the Nisab, your Zakat is $250. The same 2.5% applies in any currency. Use our Zakat calculator to add up gold (by carat), silver, cash, savings, investments and inventory.

Zakat is due once a full lunar year has passed on wealth at or above the Nisab. This is your personal Zakat anniversary, and it is not tied to a particular month. Many Muslims choose to pay in Ramadan for its greater reward, and some set their Zakat anniversary in Ramadan so it is easy to remember. Our Hijri date converter shows your next Zakat dates.

The Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must own before Zakat becomes due. It is defined as 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver. Some organizations use 87.48 g of gold and 612.36 g of silver, a slightly different conversion of the same historical weights. Its value in money changes with gold and silver prices, so our calculator works it out from the prices you enter. See the details.

Both are recognized opinions. Many organizations recommend the silver Nisab, which is lower, so more people pay Zakat and more reaches those in need. Islamic Relief notes that most scholars advise using silver. Other scholars prefer the gold Nisab as closer to the original threshold. If all of your wealth is in gold, the gold Nisab applies. Our calculator lets you choose either.

Zakatable assets include gold, silver, cash, bank balances and savings, investments and shares, business inventory, and money owed to you. Your home, car, furniture, clothes and other personal-use items are not zakatable.

Yes. Add together all cash on hand, bank balances and savings. Once your total zakatable wealth is at or above the Nisab and a lunar year has passed, Zakat is 2.5% of it.

Generally, yes. The National Zakat Foundation states that savings are zakatable regardless of what is being saved for. The same organization has also ruled that once an offer on a house has been accepted and a price agreed, the money set aside for that purchase is no longer zakatable.

Scholars differ. In the Hanafi school, gold and silver jewelry is zakatable even if worn regularly. The majority of Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars exempt jewelry kept for normal personal use. Under every view, jewelry kept as savings or an investment is zakatable. See both views and their sources.

Scholars hold three main positions: no Zakat while the money can't be accessed without penalty; Zakat every year on the amount you could withdraw after penalties and taxes; or Zakat owed once you have access, which some advise paying yearly. See each view, its source, and how to enter it in the calculator.

Shares you hold to sell are zakatable on their full market value. For long-term investments, many scholars require Zakat only on your share of the companies' zakatable assets, and the National Zakat Foundation suggests using 25% of the portfolio's value as a shortcut. See the worked example.

Yes, debts due within the next 12 months can be deducted. For long-term loans such as a mortgage, deduct only the installments due in the coming year, not the whole balance, following the National Zakat Foundation's guidance. Interest cannot be deducted.

According to the great majority of scholars, Zakat is due on a child's wealth, and the parent or guardian pays it on the child's behalf. The Hanafi school holds that Zakat is not due on a child's money (apart from crops), as the Zakat Foundation of America explains.

The Qur'an (9:60) names eight categories of people who may receive Zakat:

1. The poor
2. The needy
3. Those who collect and administer Zakat
4. Those whose hearts are to be reconciled
5. Freeing those in bondage
6. Those in debt
7. In the cause of Allah
8. The stranded traveler

You cannot give your Zakat to your parents or grandparents, your children or grandchildren, or (for a husband) your wife, because you are already responsible for supporting them. Siblings, aunts, uncles and other relatives in need can receive your Zakat, and giving to them also strengthens family ties. Scholars differ on a wife giving her Zakat to a husband in need: the Shafi'i school permits it, while the Hanafi school does not. See the National Zakat Foundation's guide to Zakat and your family and the Zakat Foundation of America.

In the majority view, no. Zakat is given to Muslims in need. Some scholars allow certain exceptions, such as under the category of those whose hearts are to be reconciled, as the Zakat Foundation of America explains. Voluntary charity (Sadaqah) can be given to anyone.

Zakat is obligatory. It is due once a year at 2.5% on wealth above the Nisab, and it goes only to the eight categories of recipients. Sadaqah is voluntary charity. It can be any amount, given at any time, to anyone, and it does not have to be money. See the National Zakat Foundation's comparison.