Calculating zakat: nisab, what counts, a worked example

Zakat is one of the pillars of Islam: when wealth above a set amount has been owned for a lunar year, 2.5% of it is given to those in need. The sum is simple, but a few points matter. For questions of religious ruling, follow a local scholar or the Islamic Foundation’s guidance; this guide covers only the usual method of calculation.

Nisab: how much wealth makes zakat due

Nisab is the minimum wealth on which zakat is due:

• Gold: 7.5 bhori (tola), about 87.48 g.
• Silver: 52.5 bhori, about 612.36 g.

If all you hold is gold, the gold nisab applies. For cash, bank deposits or mixed wealth, many scholars advise the silver nisab, because it is lower and so does more for the poor. With no national guideline, views differ on which to use; the Islamic Foundation usually gives guidance on the nisab each Ramadan.

Nisab in taka

At BAJUS’s prices of 31 October 2026 (per bhori, 22-karat gold Tk 2,17,592 and 22-karat silver Tk 3,499), roughly:

• Silver nisab: 52.5 × 3,499 ≈ Tk 1,83,698
• Gold nisab: 7.5 × 2,17,592 ≈ Tk 16,31,940

These use 22-karat prices; at pure gold and silver prices the nisab is a little higher. Today’s prices are on gold price and silver price.

What counts

• Cash and bank deposits (savings and current accounts, fixed deposits)
• Gold and silver, including jewellery (in the Hanafi school, even jewellery in use)
• Business stock, and land or assets bought to sell
• Money owed to you that you expect to get back
• Investments such as shares and savings certificates (views on the rules can differ)

There is no zakat on the home you live in, a car you use, furniture or the tools of your trade. Debts due now are taken off.

Step by step: an example

Say that after a lunar year someone holds:

That is above the nisab, so zakat = 6,85,184 × 2.5% ≈ Tk 17,130.

For jewellery, many people count what it would fetch if sold, which is less than the price of new; ask a scholar which to use.

Work out your own

On the zakat calculator, enter what you hold and it works out the nisab and zakat at today’s gold and silver prices. The sum is done in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.

Sources

• The nisab (7.5 tola of gold, 52.5 tola of silver) and the 2.5% rate: established fiqh
• BAJUS: gold and silver prices
• Islamic Foundation Bangladesh