Zakat & Islamic Finance
Gold Zakat Calculator
Work out zakat on gold — with karat taken into account, since only the pure gold counts toward nisab.
Gold Zakat Calculator
This is a calculation aid, not a religious ruling. Zakat has conditions this tool cannot check — chiefly that wealth has been held for a full lunar year (hawl). For anything consequential, confirm the result with a scholar you trust.
About the Gold Zakat Calculator
This works out zakat on gold, taking karat into account. Enter the weight, the karat, and today's price per gram, and it returns the value, the pure gold content, and whether the nisab threshold is met.
Karat matters because the nisab is traditionally understood in terms of pure gold. A 22K piece is 22 parts gold in 24, so 100 g of it contains about 91.7 g of gold — and it is that figure the threshold is tested against, not the gross weight.
Weight can be entered in grams, tola, troy ounces or kilograms, which covers the units used in most parts of the world.
How to use the Gold Zakat Calculator
- Enter the weight of your gold and pick the unit — grams, tola, troy ounces or kilos.
- Choose the karat. This matters: only the pure gold counts toward nisab.
- Look up today’s gold rate per gram for that karat and paste it in.
- Select Calculate zakat.
- If you are below nisab on gold alone, combine it with cash and silver in the Money Zakat calculator.
The calculation
Pure gold = weight × (karat ÷ 24)
Value = weight × price per gram at that karat
Zakat = value × 2.5%, if the pure gold reaches 87.48 g
Worked example
150 g of 22K gold, at £55 per gram for 22K.
Pure gold: 150 × (22 ÷ 24) = 137.5 g — above the 87.48 g threshold.
Value: 150 × £55 = £8,250
£8,250 × 2.5% = £206.25
The gold nisab
The figure most commonly cited is 87.48 grams, derived from 20 mithqal. In other units:
| Unit | Gold nisab |
|---|---|
| Grams | 87.48 g |
| Tola (South Asia) | About 7.5 tola |
| Troy ounces | About 2.81 oz |
| Mithqal (traditional) | 20 mithqal |
| Sovereigns (approx.) | About 11 |
Some institutions quote 85 g or 87.3 g instead. The variation comes from slightly different conversions of the classical measures into modern units, and it only matters if your holding sits right on the line. Where it does, use the figure your own authority publishes.
How karat affects the answer
Karat measures purity out of 24. The higher the karat, the more of the weight is actually gold:
| Karat | Purity | Pure gold in 100 g | Weight needed for 87.48 g pure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 100% | 100 g | 87.5 g |
| 22K | 91.7% | 91.7 g | 95.4 g |
| 21K | 87.5% | 87.5 g | 100.0 g |
| 18K | 75.0% | 75.0 g | 116.6 g |
| 14K | 58.3% | 58.3 g | 150.0 g |
| 9K | 37.5% | 37.5 g | 233.3 g |
So someone with 100 g of 24K passes the threshold comfortably, while someone with 100 g of 14K holds only 58.3 g of gold and does not — on gold weight alone. Combining holdings changes that, and is covered below.
To convert weights between karats, the gold karat calculator does it directly.
Zakat on gold jewellery for personal use
This is one of the better-known points of difference between the schools, and it is worth stating plainly that both positions are held by qualified scholars:
- One position holds that zakat is due on gold jewellery regardless of whether it is worn, since gold remains gold.
- Another holds that jewellery in genuine personal use is exempt, being treated as an item of use rather than stored wealth.
This calculator does not choose between them. It calculates on whatever weight you enter, so what you include is your decision — and it is exactly the kind of question worth putting to a scholar you trust rather than settling from a web page.
Combining holdings
Where gold alone does not reach the nisab, it is commonly held that gold, silver and cash may be combined and assessed against a single threshold. Someone with 50 g of gold, some silver and savings might well qualify on the total while falling short on any one of them.
The money zakat calculator handles a combined total; add your metals at market value alongside cash. The silver calculator values silver holdings.
This calculator holds no gold or silver prices. Metal rates move daily, and a stored price would go stale silently and produce a wrong answer with no warning. You enter today’s rate yourself, which keeps the result correct on the day you use it and works in any currency.
This is a calculation aid, not a religious ruling. It performs arithmetic on figures you enter. It cannot verify the conditions that determine whether zakat is actually due — chiefly that the wealth has been held for a full lunar year (hawl), and how your particular debts and circumstances should be treated. Scholars and schools differ on several points, and practice varies by country and community. For anything consequential, confirm the result with a qualified scholar or your local zakat authority.
How to calculate zakat on gold, step by step
- Weigh your gold. Include coins, bars and — on the Hanafi view — jewellery you wear.
- Find the pure gold. Multiply the weight by the karat purity: 22K is 91.7%, 21K is 87.5%, 18K is 75%.
- Check nisab. If the pure gold, alone or with your other wealth, reaches 87.48 g (7.5 tola), zakat is due.
- Pay 2.5%. Multiply the value of the gold by 0.025.
Worked example
You own 10 tola of 22K jewellery. 1 tola = 11.66 g, so that is 116.6 g.
Zakat in gold: 116.6 × 2.5% = 2.92 g of 22K gold.
Zakat due = 2.92 g × today's 22K price per gram
Zakat on gold per tola
Zakat on each tola of gold is 2.5% of one tola — about 0.29 g. So multiply today's price of one tola (for your karat) by 0.025 to get the zakat per tola. Ten tola means ten times that.
When to pay zakat on gold
Zakat is due once a full Hijri year (about 354 days) has passed since your wealth first reached nisab. Many people pick a fixed date, such as 1 Ramadan, and calculate on that day each year. Use the gold price on that same day.
How much is zakat? The zakat percentage in Islam
Zakat on gold, silver, cash and trade goods is 2.5% — one fortieth — of the zakatable amount, paid once a lunar year when your wealth is at or above nisab. So how do you work out zakat? Total what you own on your zakat date, subtract debts due now, check it against nisab, and if it qualifies, multiply by 0.025.
Example: 100 grams of 22K gold is 91.7 grams of pure gold. That is above the gold nisab of 87.48 g, so zakat is due on all of it: 2.5% of 100 g is 2.5 grams of 22K gold, or its value in money on the day you pay. Livestock and crops follow different rates; see the animals zakat calculator and fruits zakat calculator.
Other ways to use this calculator
This page answers the common gold zakat searches.
- Zakat on gold calculator — enter weight, karat and today's price per gram.
- Zakat calculator for gold jewellery — include worn jewellery if you follow the Hanafi view.
- Full zakat on all wealth — see how to calculate zakat step by step.
- Zakat gold tola — the 87.48 grams nisab is 7.5 tola.
- Gold zakat karat — pick the karat of your gold and enter the price for that karat.
- When is zakat due? — once a full lunar year passes with your wealth at or above nisab.
- Zakat calculator on gold — how much zakat on gold? 2.5% of its value, if you hold at least nisab for a lunar year.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
The figure most commonly cited is 87.48 grams of pure gold, derived from the classical measure of 20 mithqal — roughly 7.5 tola or 2.81 troy ounces. Some institutions quote 85 g or 87.3 g instead, reflecting slightly different conversions of the classical units. The difference only matters if your holding sits close to the line, in which case use your own authority's figure.
About 7.5 tola, taking one tola as 11.6638 grams. That conversion is the one generally used in South Asia, where gold is normally weighed and priced in tola. If your jeweller uses a slightly different tola weight, the resulting nisab shifts a little — worth checking if your holding is near the threshold.
The schools differ, and both positions are held by qualified scholars. One holds that zakat is due on gold jewellery whether worn or not; another treats jewellery in genuine personal use as exempt, as an item of use rather than stored wealth. This calculator takes no position — it works on whatever weight you enter, so what you include is a question for a scholar you trust.
Karat is purity out of 24, and the nisab is traditionally understood in terms of pure gold. A 22K piece is 91.7% gold, so 150 g contains 137.5 g of gold. That pure figure is what the 87.48 g threshold is tested against. It means 100 g of 24K clears the threshold while 100 g of 14K, holding only 58.3 g of gold, does not on its own.
2.5% of 10 tola, which is 0.25 tola or about 2.92 g of gold. Multiply that weight by today's price per gram for your karat to get the amount in money.
Add up gold, silver, cash, savings, trade goods and money owed to you on your zakat date. Subtract debts that are due now. If the total is at or above nisab, pay 2.5% of it. Ask a scholar you trust about personal jewellery and other cases where the schools differ.
Sources and further reading
- Islamic Relief — Zakat on gold and silver — commonly used nisab weights and their application
- National Zakat Foundation — Gold and jewellery — the differing positions on worn jewellery
- Zakat Foundation of America — Zakat on gold — traditional measures and modern conversions