How to calculate your Zakat, step by step

Zakat is not a tax you endure — it's a known share, worked out on what you actually own, according to your school.

By the NAMAA team · Updated July 2026

"How much Zakat do I owe this year?" The question sounds simple, yet it's easy to go in circles: do you count the house? the salary? the family gold? at what price? The good news: the calculation follows a few clear rules, and once you have them, you can redo it every year in minutes. This article walks you through the method, step by step — then shows you that same method in action, school by school, on a worked example.

The nisab: the threshold that triggers Zakat

Zakat is only due once your wealth passes a minimum threshold, the nisab. Below it, you owe nothing. The threshold is historically set by a weight of precious metal: 85 grams of gold, or 595 grams of silver, depending on the reference your school follows.

In practice, you convert that weight at today's price to get an amount in your currency. If gold is £70 per gram, the gold-nisab is about 85 × 70 = £5,950. Does your zakatable wealth pass that? Then Zakat is due. If not, it isn't.

The silver-nisab is almost always lower than the gold-nisab, so choosing it makes Zakat due more often (and more recipients benefit). That choice depends on your school — more on that below.

The other condition: a full year (the hawl)

A second test joins the threshold: the hawl, a full lunar year during which your wealth stayed above the nisab. Zakat is worked out on what you still own at the end of that year — not on everything that flowed through your account month by month. You pick a reference date (many use the month of Ramadan, by habit) and keep it from one year to the next.

What Zakat is calculated on

This is the part that confuses people most. Zakat does not hit everything you own — only wealth that "grows" or sits in reserve. In practice, you add up:

• your cash: current accounts, savings, money on hand;
• your gold and silver: jewellery (depending on your school), bars, coins;
• your investments: shares, units, and money set aside to invest;
• money owed to you that you expect to recover.

You do not include what you use: your home, your car, your furniture, the tools of your trade. These aren't reserves — they're your everyday life.

Finally, you subtract your short-term debts — what you must settle soon. Zakat is on the net: what you truly own once your immediate obligations are removed.

The rate: 2.5% on the net

The rest is a simple multiplication. On that net wealth — above the nisab and held for a full year — Zakat is 2.5%, or one-fortieth (1/40). No brackets, no tiers: a single rate, the same for everyone.

A worked example

Say this is your wealth at the end of your reference year, with gold at £70 per gram:

The gold-nisab here is ≈ £5,950; your net wealth (£12,000) passes it, so Zakat is due. The final step is one line: 12,000 × 2.5% = £300. That's it. Change a figure — an account that grows, a debt that clears — and the amount recalculates the same way.

Your school adjusts the details

The skeleton above is common to all. But a few details vary with the referential you follow — your school (your madhhab), or a recognised standard such as AAOIFI:

• the reference metal for the nisab (gold or silver);
• worn jewellery: subject to Zakat for some schools, exempt for others;
• how investments are counted: on full value, or on a share only.

None of these variants is "the right one" in the abstract: they are your school's choice. That's why a good calculation always starts with: which reference do I follow? — and keeps it from one year to the next.

Zakat is not one of your monthly expenses

One last thing, and it's the spirit of the Namaa method. Zakat is not a bill that eats into your month. It's worked out on your wealth — what you've accumulated — not on this month's income. And once it's calculated, you are the one who gives it — to whom you like, where you like. A tool never touches your money: it calculates, keeps the record, and stops there.

This method is yours, free — forever. You can work out your Zakat yourself, every year, with the rules above and today's nisab, paying nothing. What Namup adds in Premium is the convenience: the automatic calculation on your real wealth, a dedicated envelope to set it aside, and tracking of your payments — never the correctness of the amount. Same figures, same amount, same standing: we only charge for the time we save you.

See the method in action, school by school — free. Open the calculator →

Frequently asked questions

How much is Zakat?

2.5% — one-fortieth (1/40) — of your net wealth, provided it passes the nisab and you've held it for a full lunar year. The rate is the same for everyone; what changes from person to person is the base (what you count) and the nisab (the threshold).

What is the nisab, exactly?

It's the minimum below which no Zakat is due: the equivalent of 85 g of gold or 595 g of silver, converted at today's price in your currency. Depending on the reference you follow (gold or silver), the threshold changes — the silver-nisab usually being lower.

Do I count my house and my car?

No, not your home or the car you use: Zakat only applies to reserves and to what grows (cash, gold, investments), never to the goods you use day to day. A property bought to resell or to let, on the other hand, is treated differently — check with your school.

How can I calculate my Zakat for free?

For life. The method above is free: add up your assets, subtract your short-term debts, check the nisab, then apply 2.5% — you can redo it yourself every year. Namup offers a free demo of it, school by school, showing the method on an example; and, in the app, the automatic calculation on your real figures (Premium). The amount itself is never paid-for.

Does this calculation replace a scholar's opinion?

No. The calculation is illustrative: it applies public rules and the referential you choose, to guide you. To settle a specific case — a mixed asset, a business situation, a doubt about your school — the authority stays your trusted scholar.