What Assets Are Zakatable?
Zakat applies to specific categories of wealth, not your entire net worth. Here's what typically counts as zakatable, what doesn't, and where views commonly differ.
Try the Zakat Calculator →The general principle
Zakat is due on wealth that is capable of growth or held for trade — cash, precious metals, and business assets — not on items you own and use for personal living. A useful rule of thumb: if it's sitting there earning or ready to be sold, it's likely zakatable; if you're wearing it, living in it, or driving it, it likely isn't.
Generally zakatable
- Cash and bank balances — checking, savings, and cash on hand, in any currency.
- Gold and silver — bullion, coins, and (per most schools) jewelry not in regular personal use. See our gold vs silver nisab guide for how these are valued.
- Business inventory — goods held for resale, valued at current market price, not cost price.
- Receivables you expect to be repaid — money owed to you by a reliable debtor.
- Investment assets held for trade — such as shares bought with resale intent (many scholars apply zakat to their market value, sometimes prorated to the company's zakatable assets).
Generally not zakatable
- Your home — the property you live in.
- Your car — used for personal transport, not resale stock.
- Personal-use items — furniture, clothing, electronics, and similar belongings.
- Tools of your trade — equipment you use to work, rather than sell.
Where views commonly differ
A few categories are genuinely disputed between schools of thought, and this guide won't resolve them for you:
- Jewelry worn for personal use. The Hanafi school generally includes it; the Maliki, Shafiʿi, and Hanbali schools generally exempt jewelry in ordinary personal use.
- Retirement and pension accounts. Treatment depends on whether you have current access to the funds and how the scheme is structured — ask a scholar familiar with your country's pension system.
- Long-term debt owed to you or by you. Views differ on how much of a long-term receivable or liability (like a mortgage) to include in this year's calculation versus treating it as a future-year event.
Subtracting liabilities
Once you've totaled zakatable assets, subtract debts and bills currently due — not the full balance of a long-term loan, just the portion due now. Our how-to-calculate-zakat guide walks through this step by step, and the Zakat Calculator applies it directly to your numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay zakat on my salary?
Not directly — zakat applies to wealth you hold above the nisab for a full lunar year, not to income as it's earned. Salary becomes zakatable once it sits in savings and meets the nisab and hawl conditions.
Is zakat due on cryptocurrency?
Many contemporary scholars treat cryptocurrency similarly to cash or tradeable assets if held for investment, though rulings are still developing and views vary — check with a knowledgeable source for current guidance.
What about jewelry I never wear?
Jewelry that isn't in regular personal use is more consistently treated as zakatable across schools of thought, similar to bullion.
Guidance tool, not a fatwa
This calculator is a guidance tool based on widely accepted scholarly positions. Zakat rulings can vary by school of thought (madhhab) and personal circumstance — consult a qualified scholar for your situation.
Last reviewed: August 7, 2026