Zakat calculation can get meticulous. There’s more to it than just giving 2.5% of what’s in your bank accounts. That’s why those giving their share in Ramadan 2024 should use a Zakat Calculator to help keep their finances in order.
Some basics about giving zakat
Different types of wealth have different rulings on zakat. Not everything you owe counts as wealth you owe zakat on. For example, there are exemptions for paying zakat on jewelry, and there are circumstances in which Muslims must pay zakat for their jewelry.
Keeping that in mind, the wealth you have that is zakat-eligible — meaning it’s the type of wealth that you could owe zakat on — must cross a threshold. In other words, if you haven’t been able to save up enough, you don’t owe zakat. But even then, it’s not that simple. If you have saved enough to reach nisab — the minimum amount you must have to pay zakat — you must also hold that amount for a full lunar year before you owe zakat on it.
So, if today’s nisab is $6,546 — which it is, according to Zakat Foundation of America’s online Zakat Calculator — then a Muslim paying zakat must have had that much saved up for a lunar year after all their necessary expenses. To be a little more specific, if a Muslim has more than that amount saved up from the first day of Ramadan 2024 through to the first day of Ramadan in 2025, then that person owes zakat on that wealth on the first day of Ramadan 2025.
But zakat is not necessarily due in Ramadan. While you can pay yours in Ramadan 2024, someone else may choose to pay theirs in Muharram.
What other expenses do I need to track to pay my zakat properly?
Zakat Foundation of America has updated its popular online Zakat Calculator to make it easier to answer exactly that question. It functions like a worksheet and automatically calculates your zakat based on what you input.
Need more details before you input your finances for calculation? Refer to our Zakat Resource Center. In it, you’ll find frequently asked questions (FAQs), a digital version of the Zakat Handbook (which we published specifically to help Muslims understand how to pay their zakat), and much more.
The Zakat Calculator factors in, among other values:
Cash on hand and in bank accounts
Value of gold, silver and precious items
Value of stocks, shares and bonds
Value of shareholder dividends
Furthermore, the Zakat Calculator updates daily with the value of gold, which is used to determine nisab. Donate your zakat al-mal if it’s due today, and make sure to donate your zakat al-fitr before Eid al-Fitr 2024.