This article explains the general, widely-followed method for calculating Zakat. A few specific questions — most notably, whether Zakat is due on gold jewelry kept for personal/everyday use — are genuine points of difference between the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhhabs). Where that's the case, we've flagged it clearly, and we'd encourage you to confirm your personal situation with a qualified Islamic scholar or imam rather than relying on this guide alone for a religious ruling.

Zakat is a fixed percentage — 2.5% (1/40th) — of a Muslim's qualifying wealth, paid once every lunar year to specified categories of recipients. Three conditions generally have to be met before Zakat becomes due on a person's wealth:

• The person is Muslim, adult, and of sound mind.
• Their net qualifying wealth meets or exceeds the Nisab threshold (explained below) at the time Zakat is calculated.
• That wealth has been held for one full lunar year (Hawl) — roughly 354–355 days — above the Nisab threshold, without dropping below it for the whole period in most interpretations.

Nisab is the minimum threshold of wealth a person must own before Zakat becomes payable at all. It is traditionally expressed in terms of gold or silver:

Because silver is worth far less per gram than gold, the silver-based Nisab is a much lower Taka amount — which means more people qualify to pay Zakat (and more wealth reaches those entitled to receive it). Many scholars consider the silver Nisab the more precautionary and widely applicable standard today, though both are recognized bases.

Cash and liquid savings are the most straightforward category. Include the full balance, as of your Zakat calculation date, of:

• Cash in hand
• Bank account balances (current and savings)
• Mobile financial service balances (bKash, Nagad, Rocket, etc.)
• Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR) and DPS — principal plus any profit/interest accrued to date
• Money lent to others that you reasonably expect to recover

Gold and silver — whether held as bars, coins, or jewelry — are valued at current market rate, by weight, at your Zakat calculation date. Because purity varies, value each piece according to its actual karat (purity) rather than assuming 24K across the board:

• 24K (99.9% pure): valued at the full market rate per gram/vori.
• 22K, 21K, 18K: valued at a proportionally reduced rate reflecting the actual gold content.
• The same principle applies to silver ornaments at their respective purity.

If you own or run a business, Zakat applies to the assets held for trade — valued at their current market/selling price on your calculation date:

• Stock-in-trade / inventory: goods held for resale, valued at current selling price (not original cost).
• Trade receivables: amounts customers owe you that you reasonably expect to collect.
• Business cash and bank balances.
• Raw materials held for conversion into goods for sale.

Before applying the 2.5% rate, you can generally deduct short-term debts that are due imminently or within the current year, such as:

• Unpaid business supplier bills (accounts payable) due in the near term
• The upcoming installment(s) due on a loan within the next year
• Wages or salaries owed to staff but not yet paid
• Taxes or utility bills due and outstanding

Figures below are illustrative only — always use the actual current gold/silver rate and your real balances.

Getting Nisab, karat-by-karat gold valuation, and deductible liabilities right by hand is easy to get slightly wrong — and a slight error compounds across every asset category. amarConsultant's free Zakat Calculator handles the full calculation above automatically:

• Editable, live gold and silver market rates, broken down by karat/purity
• A toggle to calculate Nisab on either the gold or silver basis
• Separate sections for cash & business assets and for deductible liabilities, so nothing gets missed or double-counted
• An instant result with a clear visual summary of whether you've met Nisab and exactly how much Zakat is due
• Downloadable PDF and print options for your records, available in both English and বাংলা

• Valuing gold at purchase price instead of today's market rate. Zakat is based on current value, which can be significantly higher than what you originally paid.
• Treating all jewelry as 24K. Most everyday jewelry is 18K–22K; using the wrong karat overstates (or understates) its value.
• Deducting your entire mortgage or long-term loan balance. Generally only the near-term installment due is netted off, not the full outstanding principal.
• Forgetting business receivables and inventory. Zakat applies to trade goods and money owed to you, not just your personal bank balance.
• Skipping Nisab entirely and just donating "something." Zakat is a precisely calculated obligation, not a voluntary estimate — and under-calculating it doesn't fulfil the obligation, even if the intention is good.

Calculate Your Zakat Accurately, Every Year

Zakat is both a financial calculation and a religious obligation — getting the numbers right matters, and so does getting the fiqh right for your own situation. Use the free Zakat Calculator to handle the arithmetic, and don't hesitate to ask a qualified scholar about the specific questions (like jewelry-in-use or long-term debt) where opinions genuinely differ.