Zakat FAQ

Zakat (زكاة) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam — a mandatory annual obligation on every eligible Muslim. It is not voluntary charity; it is a precise religious duty equal to 2.5% of your net qualifying wealth. The word means purification and growth. The Quran designates eight categories of eligible recipients in Surah Al-Tawbah (9:60).

Any adult Muslim of sound mind who has held wealth above the nisab threshold for a complete lunar year (hawl) must pay zakat. In the Hanafi school, minors do not pay — a guardian pays on their behalf in the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools.

Zakat is 2.5% of net zakatable wealth. This rate is universally agreed across all four madhabs with no dispute.

Nisab is the minimum wealth threshold above which zakat becomes obligatory. It is fixed at either 87.48g of gold or 612.36g of silver. The pound sterling equivalent changes daily with spot prices. Our calculator uses LBMA prices updated every 10 minutes.

The silver nisab is much lower, meaning more people qualify and more zakat is paid overall. Most UK scholars and charities default to silver as the more cautious (and more charitable) choice. The gold nisab is much higher and would exempt many people who might otherwise be liable. Our calculator defaults to silver but lets you switch to gold.

Hawl is the lunar year (approximately 354 days) that wealth must be held above the nisab before zakat becomes due. If your wealth dips below the nisab at any point during the year, the hawl resets from that point. You do not need a continuous calendar year — a lunar year.

Add up all zakatable assets: cash, savings, gold and silver (jewellery rules vary by madhab), investments, business stock, crypto, and debts owed to you. Subtract short-term liabilities: the next 12 months of rent, utility bills, and loan repayments. If the result exceeds the nisab, multiply by 2.5%. Our calculator does this for you.

Zakatable assets include: cash and bank balances; savings accounts and ISAs; gold and silver (including jewellery — see the madhab rules below); shares, unit trusts, and ETFs at market value; cryptocurrency at market value; business stock and trade receivables; rental income and crop yields held at your zakat date; and money owed to you that you expect to be repaid. Personal-use items — your home, car, clothes, and furniture — are not zakatable.

Salary itself is not a separate zakat category. When your salary is paid into your bank account it becomes cash, which is zakatable. On your annual zakat date, your total cash and savings (including accumulated salary) are counted. If the total exceeds nisab and you have held it for the hawl, zakat is due at 2.5%.

It depends on your madhab. In the Hanafi madhab, all gold and silver jewellery is zakatable regardless of whether it is worn. In the Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali madhabs, jewellery worn regularly for personal use is generally exempt — only jewellery held as an investment or stored unused is zakatable.

Yes. Both regular savings accounts and Cash ISAs are fully zakatable. The ISA tax wrapper does not remove the zakat obligation — only whether the money is accessible and above nisab matters.

Yes. A Stocks and Shares ISA is zakatable at its market value on your zakat date. If the fund or shares are traceable, you may be able to calculate zakat only on the zakatable underlying assets (cash, receivables, inventory) rather than the full market value — but a simpler and more cautious approach is to pay 2.5% on the entire market value.

It depends on the type. Workplace pensions and SIPPs where you have control over the fund are generally zakatable on the accessible or encashable portion. Defined benefit (final salary) pensions you cannot yet access are generally not zakatable until you receive payments. This is a genuinely contested area — consult a scholar for your specific situation.

Yes. Cryptocurrency is treated as a zakatable asset at its market value on your zakat calculation date. The same rules apply as to other investments — if you have held it above the nisab for a hawl, zakat is due at 2.5% of its value.

Yes. Shares held for investment are zakatable at market value. If you have access to the company's balance sheet, a more precise approach is to pay zakat only on the company's zakatable assets proportionate to your holding — but 2.5% of market value is widely accepted as a safe default.

Yes. Business assets that are intended for trade — stock, raw materials, and trade receivables — are zakatable. Fixed assets used in the business (machinery, property, vehicles) are not zakatable. Cash held in a business account is zakatable.

No. Your primary residence and personal-use vehicles are not zakatable assets. If you own a second property as a buy-to-let investment, the rental income held at your zakat date is zakatable, but the property value itself is not (unless you are a property trader). If you own a car as stock for resale, that is zakatable.

Only the next 12 months of mortgage payments can be deducted — not the full outstanding balance. Even deducting one year's payments is disputed among scholars; some hold that no mortgage deduction is permissible. The full outstanding mortgage balance is definitely not deductible.

Only the portion of a loan that is due within the next 12 months may be deducted. The same principle applies to student loans — only what is actually being deducted from your salary in the current year counts as a deductible liability. The full loan balance is not deductible.

Short-term liabilities due within the next 12 months may generally be deducted: upcoming rent, utility bills, tax bills, and current-year instalment payments. Long-term debts (the full balance of a mortgage, finance agreements, or loans extending beyond a year) are not deductible beyond the next 12 months' payments.

Zakat becomes due on your personal zakat anniversary — the lunar date on which your wealth first exceeded the nisab. Many UK Muslims choose to pay during Ramadan for the extra spiritual reward, but paying on your actual anniversary is more precise. You may pay early (in advance of your anniversary) if your wealth is already above nisab.

Yes, with conditions. You may pay zakat before your anniversary date if your wealth is already above the nisab at the time of payment. If your wealth subsequently drops below nisab before the anniversary, the advance payment still counts.

Yes. You may distribute your zakat across multiple eligible recipients or organisations, as long as all recipients fall within the eight Quranic categories. There is no requirement to give it all to one place.

You may not pay zakat to your direct dependants (spouse, children, parents you are responsible for). You may give zakat to other relatives — siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins — if they are genuinely in need and meet the eligibility criteria.

Generally no — a mosque itself is not one of the eight eligible categories. However, if a mosque is distributing zakat directly to eligible recipients on your behalf as an agent (wakil), that is permissible. Always check how a mosque uses zakat funds before giving.

Zakat al-Mal is the annual wealth zakat described throughout this FAQ — 2.5% of net zakatable wealth held above nisab for a lunar year. Zakat al-Fitr (also called Sadaqat al-Fitr) is a separate, smaller obligation due at the end of Ramadan — a fixed amount of food or its cash equivalent paid on behalf of every member of your household, regardless of wealth.

You must pay the missed zakat. It remains a debt on your wealth and does not expire. Calculate what your zakatable wealth was in the missed year (or years) as accurately as possible and pay 2.5% for each year missed. It is recommended to also seek forgiveness and, if possible, consult a scholar if the amounts are substantial.