Gold Zakat Calculator

Zakat on gold is due when your holding reaches the nisab and a full lunar year has passed over it. The nisab is eighty five grams of pure gold, the scholars' estimate of twenty dinars, and the rate is a quarter of a tenth, that is 2.5%.

Why karat matters

The nisab is measured in pure, 24 karat gold, while most jewellery is 21 or 18 karat. One hundred grams of 21 karat contains 87.5 grams of pure gold, so it reaches the nisab. One hundred grams of 18 karat contains only 75 grams, so on its own it does not. That is why this calculator asks for the karat of every item and converts each one to its pure equivalent before testing the threshold.

• 24 karat is 100% pure.
• 22 karat is 91.67% pure.
• 21 karat is 87.5% pure.
• 18 karat is 75% pure.
• 14 karat is 58.33% pure.

Jewellery worn by women

This is a genuine and long-standing difference of opinion. The majority, including three of the four imams, hold that zakat is due on gold in every form, including worn jewellery, and that is the view this tool follows. Malik, a narration from Ahmad and others exempt jewellery kept for lawful personal use. If you follow the first view, the figure shown is yours; if the second, exclude what is worn and include what is stored for saving or investment.

Today's price, not the purchase price

The value that counts is what the gold is worth on the day zakat falls due, not what you paid for it, and craftsmanship charges are excluded because they are not gold. The price shown here is the global price per gram converted into your currency. Your local market can differ slightly through tax and the jeweller's margin, so you can enter the price per gram yourself.

After the calculation

If your gold alone is below the nisab, do not stop here. Most jurists combine cash, silver and trade goods with gold when testing the threshold, so continue to the money zakat calculator or the full calculator. To confirm a complete lunar year, use the Hijri calendar.