Question 1

What is the nisab value today?

Accepted Answer

Today the gold nisab (87.48 g of gold) is worth about $11,742, and the silver nisab (612.36 g of silver) is worth about $1,312 (as of June 11, 2026). The nisab is the minimum wealth at which zakat becomes due; if your net zakatable wealth is at or above one of these thresholds and a lunar year has passed, you owe 2.5%.

Question 2

How often does the nisab change?

Accepted Answer

The classical weights never change — 87.48 g of gold and 612.36 g of silver are fixed. What changes is their value in dollars, because gold and silver prices move. We recompute and publish the dollar value every day from a basket of named sources, so the figure you see is always current to the date shown on the page.

Question 3

Should I use the gold or the silver nisab?

Accepted Answer

Both are valid. Most contemporary charities and scholars use the lower silver threshold because it draws more givers in and brings more relief to the poor; it is also the more cautious choice for the payer. Some follow the gold threshold, which sits closer to what nisab meant in the Prophet's time. The key is to pick one and stay consistent year to year, and to ask your scholar if your situation is close to the line.

Question 4

Does my gold and silver jewelry count?

Accepted Answer

In the Hanafi school, personal-use gold and silver jewelry is zakatable — valued by the weight of the gold or silver content only, with any gemstones and other materials excluded. Other schools exempt jewelry that is genuinely for personal use. Follow the position of the school or scholar you follow; if you are unsure, the cautious course is to include it.

Question 5

Is my 401(k) or retirement account zakatable?

Accepted Answer

Generally yes. The dominant view is that retirement savings are zakatable even while locked or subject to penalty, because they are still your wealth. Many calculators (including ours) use the gross vested value, deducting hypothetical taxes or penalties only if you are actually dissolving the account this year. The portion held in long-term stock is often valued at a proxy rate rather than full market value. This is an area scholars discuss, so confirm the approach with a scholar you trust.

Question 6

When is zakat due?

Accepted Answer

Zakat is due once a full lunar year (the hawl) has passed with your wealth at or above the nisab. The day you first cross the threshold starts the clock; one Islamic year later becomes your zakat anniversary, and you recalculate every lunar year after that. Because the lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar one, using a solar date quietly skips a year over a lifetime — so anchor to a lunar date.

Question 7

Who can receive zakat?

Accepted Answer

The Quran (9:60) names eight categories, the most common being the poor and the needy. Zakat must end up owned by an eligible person — so it cannot fund a building such as a masjid, school, or hospital (those are built with sadaqah), though paying a needy person's hospital bill is valid. You also cannot give zakat to your own spouse, parents, or children, nor to the wealthy. Giving to needy relatives such as siblings carries a double reward.

Question 8

Can I pay my zakat early?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Zakat may be paid in advance of its due date, and many scholars recommend giving steadily through the year and then truing-up against your calculation on your anniversary. Smaller amounts are easier to give, the needy are provided for year-round, and nothing is left to be delayed.

Question 9

What about my debts?

Accepted Answer

You deduct debts that are actually due in the coming year, not the full balance of long-term loans. For a long-term debt such as a mortgage or student loan, deduct roughly the next twelve months of payments (or, some scholars suggest, deduct nothing and instead pay the principal down before your zakat date). Short-term debts and currently-due bills are deducted in full. What you may not do is subtract a thirty-year mortgage balance from this year's wealth.

Question 10

Why is the gold price here different from the spot price I see elsewhere?

Accepted Answer

Spot is the price for large institutional trades, not what an ordinary person realises when selling their own metal. Dealers buying from the public price in their margins and so pay under spot. Following the National Zakat Foundation realizable-value rationale, we compute the nisab from a basket that blends spot benchmarks with accessible dealer rates, so the threshold reflects what wealth is genuinely worth to its owner rather than an idealised quote.

Question 11

Do I owe zakat on the whole amount or only the part above the nisab?

Accepted Answer

On the whole amount. Once your net zakatable wealth is at or above the nisab, you owe 2.5% of the entire net figure — not just the surplus above the threshold. The nisab is a gate that determines whether zakat applies, not a deductible amount.

Question 12

Who runs this site?

Accepted Answer

Nisab Value is a project of the Ihsan Standard, part of a values-aligned network of tools built for the benefit of the ummah. The zakat methodology follows the Hanafi handbook 'Nurturing Mountains' by Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar (Sacred Learning), used with gratitude; any errors in our implementation are ours alone.

Question 13

Is this free? Do you track me?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is completely free, and no — there is no tracking, no ads, no accounts, and no data collection. Everything you type into the calculators stays in your browser and is never uploaded. The whole point is to give the ummah a tool it owns, not one that quietly monetises it.