How to Calculate Zakat in Pakistan (Nisab, Assets & Worked Examples)
Zakat is 2.5% of your net zakatable wealth, paid once a lunar year if you're above the nisab. The hard part is knowing what counts and what you can deduct.
Zakat = 2.5% of net zakatable wealth, where net wealth = (gold + silver + cash + savings + investments + business stock + money owed to you) − (debts you owe). It's due once your net wealth has stayed above the nisab for one full lunar year.
The nisab: are you liable at all?
Nisab is the minimum wealth that makes Zakat obligatory. There are two benchmarks — the value of 87.48g of gold (7.5 tola) or 612.36g of silver (52.5 tola). Most scholars in Pakistan use the silver nisab because it is lower and brings more people into Zakat.
| Nisab basis | Weight | Approx. PKR value* |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 612.36 g (52.5 tola) | ≈ Rs. 190,000 |
| Gold | 87.48 g (7.5 tola) | ≈ Rs. 2,250,000 |
What counts toward Zakat
- Gold and silver — all of it, including women's jewellery (the majority view in Pakistan)
- Cash — in hand, in current and savings accounts, and foreign currency
- Investments — shares, mutual funds, prize bonds, the cash value of savings certificates
- Business assets — stock/inventory held for sale (not fixtures or equipment)
- Receivables — money you have lent that you expect to get back
What does NOT count
- Your home you live in, personal car, furniture and clothes
- Tools, machinery and shop fittings used to run a business
- Salary you have not yet received
Deducting debts
Subtract debts that are currently due — credit card balances, this year's committed loan payments, unpaid bills, committed rent. Long-term debt such as a 20-year mortgage is usually deducted only up to the next 12 months' payments, not the whole balance. Statutory Zakat already deducted by your bank from savings is also credited.
Worked examples
50g of gold plus Rs. 1,500,000 in savings
Gold at Rs. 26,500/g, Rs. 1,500,000 in bank, and Rs. 200,000 of credit-card and short-term debt.
- Gold value (50 × Rs. 26,500)
- Rs. 1,325,000
- Cash & bank
- Rs. 1,500,000
- Total zakatable assets
- Rs. 2,825,000
- Less current debts
- − Rs. 200,000
- Net zakatable wealth
- Rs. 2,625,000
- Zakat at 2.5%
- Rs. 65,625
Zakat due Rs. 65,625 for the year — about Rs. 5,469 a month if you prefer to pay it monthly.
The 2.5% applies to your entire net wealth, not only the amount above nisab.
Savings only — Rs. 500,000
No gold, Rs. 500,000 in the bank, Rs. 50,000 owed on a card.
- Net wealth
- Rs. 500,000 − Rs. 50,000 = Rs. 450,000
- Above the silver nisab (≈ Rs. 190,000)?
- Yes
- Zakat at 2.5%
- Rs. 11,250
Zakat due Rs. 11,250.
Because most Pakistani scholars use the lower silver nisab, even modest savings held for a year are zakatable.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out gold jewellery — most scholars in Pakistan include it
- Forgetting shares and prize bonds
- Deducting the entire mortgage balance rather than the next year's payments
- Including your house or car — these are not zakatable
- Using last year's nisab value — it changes daily with metal prices
Work out your Zakat
Enter your gold, silver, cash, investments and debts with today's metal rates — the calculator checks the nisab and gives the exact 2.5% due.
Open the Zakat Calculator calculator