Gold Nisab & Zakat Calculator Guide

What Is the Gold Nisab?

The Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth a Muslim must possess before Zakat becomes obligatory on them. For gold, scholars derived this threshold from 20 mithqal — the classical unit of weight — which translates into modern grams differently depending on the school:

• Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali schools: 85 grams of 24K gold
• Hanafi school: 87.48 grams of 24K gold (based on a slightly different mithqal conversion)

The 85g standard is what most contemporary Zakat organisations, fatwa councils, and Islamic finance bodies around the world have settled on. The Hanafi figure of 87.48g is still the norm in South Asian communities — Pakistan, India, Bangladesh — and among some scholars in Turkey and Central Asia. If you follow the Hanafi school and your gold sits between 85g and 87.48g, the Nisab is not yet reached under that ruling.

How to Calculate the Gold Nisab at Today's Price

Because the Nisab is set in weight rather than a fixed currency amount, its value in dollars, pounds, riyals, or any other currency shifts every day along with the gold price. The arithmetic is straightforward:

To make that concrete: at a spot price of $100 per gram for 24K gold —

• Nisab (Shafi'i/Maliki/Hanbali) = 85 × $100 = $8,500
• Nisab (Hanafi) = 87.48 × $100 = $8,748

Whether your total zakatable wealth meets or exceeds this figure — after being held above the Nisab continuously for a full lunar year — is what determines whether Zakat is due. What counts as "zakatable wealth" varies slightly by scholarly opinion, so if you hold a mix of gold, cash, and investments, it is worth checking with a knowledgeable scholar about how to combine them.

Our Zakat calculator pulls the live gold price and works out today's Nisab value for you, in your local currency, without any manual steps.

How Much Zakat Is Due on Gold?

The rate is fixed: 2.5% of the total market value of your zakatable gold, which scholars also express as one-fortieth (1/40). The harder question is usually which gold counts. As a general guide:

• Gold bullion bars and coins held as savings or investment are zakatable without dispute
• Stored jewellery — pieces locked away rather than worn — is zakatable under most rulings; the schools diverge mainly on jewellery worn regularly for personal use (Hanafi scholars generally include it; Shafi'i and Maliki scholars tend to exempt it)
• Digital gold accounts and physically-backed ETFs are treated as equivalent to physical gold by most contemporary scholars, provided the gold actually exists and is allocated to you

Formula:

So if you hold 100 grams of 24K gold worth $10,000 and the Nisab is met, you owe $250. The calculation is the same whether you pay in cash or in-kind gold — what matters is the market value on the day you pay.

Purity Conversion: 21K, 18K, and 22K Gold

Most gold jewellery is not 24K. Before you can check whether your holdings clear the Nisab, you need to convert each piece to its pure-gold equivalent. Multiply the physical weight by the conversion factor for that karat:

Add up the 24K-equivalent weight across all your holdings — a 100g bangle in 21K counts as 87.5g of pure gold, for instance. That combined figure is what you compare against the 85g (or 87.48g) threshold, not the stamped weight on each piece.

The Hawl Condition: One Full Lunar Year

Reaching the Nisab is only part of the requirement. Zakat on gold is due only after the wealth has stayed above the Nisab for a complete Hawl — one full lunar year, approximately 354 days. If your gold dips below the threshold at any point and then recovers, the clock restarts from the day it crossed back above.

In practice, most people find it easiest to pick a fixed annual date — the first of Ramadan is the most common choice, but a personal Zakat anniversary works just as well. If your gold was above Nisab on that date last year and is still above it today, Zakat is due, calculated on the value at today's price rather than what it was worth twelve months ago.

Silver Nisab vs Gold Nisab: Which to Use?

This is a question that comes up every year, and the answer depends partly on what you are calculating Zakat on. Scholars recognise two Nisab standards:

• Gold Nisab: 85g of 24K gold (which at current prices translates to a considerably higher cash figure)
• Silver Nisab: 595g of silver (currently much lower in value — typically in the range of $350–$600 depending on the silver price)

For gold itself, the hadith evidence points clearly to the gold Nisab, and most scholars apply it accordingly. The debate mostly concerns mixed wealth — cash savings, stocks, business assets, gold all combined. Some contemporary scholars recommend using the silver Nisab for total-wealth calculations precisely because it is lower and therefore brings more people into the obligation; others prefer the gold Nisab to avoid unnecessary hardship. Neither position is without scholarly support. If you are calculating Zakat on gold alone, stick with the gold Nisab. For everything else, a qualified scholar who knows your madhab and circumstances is the right person to ask.

Work out your Zakat with live prices: Zakat Calculator — Live Gold & Silver Prices

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