Calculate Zakat
How to calculate zakat, with worked examples
Five steps you can do with a pen, and three households worked through to the last penny.
How to calculate zakat in five steps
- Fix your zakat day, a lunar year after your wealth reached the nisab (Sunan Ibn Majah 1792).
- Add up what counts: cash, bank savings, gold and silver kept, shares at sale value, business stock, money owed to you.
- Take off debts due now: bills, rent, this month’s repayments, a card balance.
- Compare with the nisab: 200 dirhams of silver or 20 dinars of gold (Sunan Abi Dawud 1573), £881.80 or £8,775.99 on 8 October 2026.
- At or above it, give 2.5%, a quarter of a tenth (Sahih al-Bukhari 1454).
When you are ready, pay your zakat openly and see where each pound goes.
Three households: calculate zakat with real figures
| Household | What counts | Against silver (£881.80) | Against gold (£8,775.99) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amina: £600 in the bank | £600.00 | Below: nothing due | Below: nothing due |
| Bilal: £2,550 cash and bank, £250 rent due | £2,300.00 | £57.50 | Below: nothing due |
| Sara: £5,000 bank, 40 g of 22 carat gold, £2,000 shares, £400 card bill | £10,278.40 | £256.96 | £256.96 |
Sara’s gold: 40 g × 22/24 × £100.32 = £3,678.40, at the spot price of 8 October 2026.