Calculate the Zakat (2.5%) due on your cash, bank savings, and cash equivalents held for a full lunar year, compared against the gold or silver Nisab threshold.
🕌 Zakat CalculatorsEverything runs locally in your browser — no sign-up required, and no data is ever sent anywhere.
Zakat on cash and bank savings follows the same core rule as Zakat on gold and silver: money held for a full lunar year (Hawl) that reaches the Nisab threshold is subject to a 2.5% annual charge. Unlike physical assets such as trade goods or livestock, cash is treated as immediately and fully zakatable, since money is inherently liquid and ready to grow — the same underlying reasoning classical jurists applied to gold and silver currency. This principle is documented in classical Fiqh references and reaffirmed in modern standards such as AAOIFI's Shari'a Standards on Zakat, which treat bank deposits, checking balances, and cash on hand identically to physical currency. The Nisab itself is measured against the value of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver — whichever standard the payer chooses — and is not affected by how the cash is stored, whether in a wallet, a savings account, or a digital payment app. Because cash balances change day to day, most people find it easiest to check their balance on one fixed date each year, often during Ramadan, rather than trying to track a minimum balance held continuously.
Cash is the simplest form of wealth to calculate Zakat on, yet it is also the form most people get subtly wrong — usually by forgetting an account, miscounting the waiting period, or confusing money that is truly available to them with money they have already committed to spending. This guide walks through the practical side of paying Zakat on cash and bank savings so the number this calculator gives you is one you can trust.
Start with what actually counts. Cash Zakat covers physical cash on hand, balances in checking and savings accounts, payroll deposits sitting between paydays, money in digital wallets, and short-term deposits you can access without a heavy penalty. It does not include money you have already spent or donated, or that has genuinely left your possession — for example, rent already paid or a bill already settled before your Zakat date.
Next comes timing, the part most commonly misunderstood. Zakat on cash is due once that wealth has been in your continuous possession for one full lunar (Hijri) year, a period known as Hawl. In practice, tracking a minimum balance every single day of the year is impractical, so the overwhelming majority of scholars accept picking one fixed date annually — many people choose a date during Ramadan — and calculating Zakat on the balance held on that date, provided their wealth generally remained at or above the Nisab throughout the year.
The Nisab threshold itself is what separates an obligation to pay Zakat from simply having savings. Two standards exist: 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver, valued at current market prices. Because gold and silver prices move independently of each other, the two standards rarely give the exact same cutoff at any given moment; the silver standard is usually lower, which is one reason some scholars recommend it specifically for cash and trade wealth, as it brings more people into the pool of Zakat payers and, by extension, more support to Zakat recipients.
Once you know your total cash wealth and your chosen Nisab, the calculation itself is simple: if your total is at or above the Nisab, 2.5% of the entire amount is due, not merely the portion above the threshold. If your total falls short of the Nisab — after subtracting any debts and bills due right now — no Zakat is owed for that year. Keeping a short annual note of the date you calculate on, your balance, and the amount paid also makes each following year's calculation faster, and helps you track how your savings — and your Zakat — grow over time.
Yes. Any cash sitting in a checking, savings, or payroll account for a full lunar year is treated the same as cash on hand and included in your zakatable total. If the account pays interest, the interest itself should not be included, and many scholars recommend donating any interest received separately, since it is not permissible income.
Most scholars accept using the balance on one fixed date each year — commonly a date in Ramadan — rather than tracking every daily fluctuation. As long as your wealth generally stayed near or above the Nisab throughout the year, Zakat is calculated on the balance you have on your chosen date.
Yes, money set aside for a future goal is still zakatable while it remains in your possession, since it has not yet actually been spent. Only wealth that has genuinely left your ownership — spent, given away, or lost — is excluded from the calculation.
Both are valid; choose whichever standard your local scholar or Zakat authority recommends. The silver standard produces a lower Nisab threshold, meaning more people qualify to pay (and receive) Zakat, which is why some scholars prefer it specifically for cash and trade wealth.
Yes, if that same cash is still in your possession a full lunar year later and still meets the Nisab. Zakat is an annual obligation on wealth you continue to hold, not a one-time payment, though the amount naturally decreases each year as 2.5% is paid off the remaining balance.