Zakat in Pakistan: the 2.5% Formula, Nisab & Worked Examples
Zakat is one-fortieth of your zakatable wealth, paid once a lunar year — but only if your wealth reaches nisab. This guide explains the formula, what counts, and shows worked examples you can check against the calculator.
Try it yourself: Zakat Calculator — enter your cash, gold and silver to get your own zakat figure.
The formula
Zakat is 2.5% of your total zakatable wealth, provided that wealth is at or above nisab and has been held for one lunar year:
- Total zakatable wealth = cash + gold value + silver value. Gold and silver are valued at their current market rates per tola.
- Nisab = the value of 52.5 tola of silver. If your total is below nisab, no zakat is due at all.
- Zakat = 2.5% × total wealth (if total ≥ nisab, otherwise Rs 0).
Worked examples (calculator's example inputs)
Using the calculator's example silver rate of Rs 3,400 per tola, nisab is 52.5 × Rs 3,400 = Rs 178,500:
| Wealth | Total | Zakat (2.5%) |
|---|---|---|
| Rs 1,000,000 cash, no gold or silver | Rs 1,000,000 | Rs 25,000 |
| Rs 500,000 cash + 5 tola gold at Rs 285,400/tola | Rs 1,927,000 | Rs 48,175 |
Both totals are above the Rs 178,500 nisab, so 2.5% applies in full. Note that the live calculator pre-fills the current gold and silver rates, so your own nisab will move with the silver price — the examples above use fixed example rates to show the arithmetic.
Assumptions behind these figures
- Zakat rate: 2.5% (one-fortieth) of zakatable wealth.
- Nisab: value of 52.5 tola silver (Rs 178,500 at the example silver rate of Rs 3,400/tola).
- Wealth counted: cash in hand and bank, gold, and silver. The calculator does not subtract debts or exclude personal-use items — it totals exactly what you enter.
- Wealth must have been held for one lunar year (haul) for zakat to apply.
Common mistakes
- Paying on income instead of wealth. Zakat is on savings and assets held for a year, not on your monthly salary.
- Forgetting gold. Gold jewellery and coins count at their current market value and often push a total over nisab on their own.
- Using a stale silver rate for nisab. Nisab moves with the silver price, so check the current rate — the calculator pre-fills the live rate for this reason.
- Paying when below nisab. Below nisab, zakat is Rs 0 — any payment then is voluntary charity (sadaqah), not zakat.
Source and date note
The figures in this guide follow the Zakat Calculator's example rates as of October 2026. Gold and silver rates change daily, so nisab changes with them — use the calculator's live-prefilled rates for your own calculation, and confirm any religious question with a qualified scholar.
Related calculators
- Zakat Calculator — work out your own zakat from cash, gold and silver.
- Tola Converter — convert tola, grams and kilograms for gold and silver weights.
- Fitrana Calculator — fitrana amounts for Ramadan.