Zakat Calculator
Work out your zakat in Canadian dollars: the current gold and silver nisab (the least wealth on which zakat is due), RRSP and TFSA treatment, jewelry, business assets, and the debts you can deduct.
Rates & rules verified · October 2026Primary sources: National Zakat Foundation Canada – What is Nisab? · Islamic Relief Canada – Nisab
Where you stand against nisab
Your net zakatable wealth against both thresholds: the silver nisab (612.36 g) and the gold nisab (87.48 g) at spot prices. Zakat is due once the bar reaches the tick for the standard you picked.
From what you own to net zakatable wealth
Each amount you entered at full value, then what the rules keep out: the passive-investment proxy, worn jewelry, the RRSP withdrawal tax and debts due within 12 months. The last bar is the amount zakat is calculated on.
Breakdown
Each category as entered, and the amount that counts toward zakat.
| Category | Amount | Zakatable |
|---|
How this is calculated
In 30 seconds
- Zakat is a yearly payment of 2.5% of your savings and other wealth, given to people in need.
- It is due only when your wealth is at or above the nisab: the value of a set weight of gold or silver.
- You must hold that wealth for one full lunar year, the hawl, before zakat is due. This tool does not track dates.
- The tool adds up what counts, takes off debts due within 12 months, and compares the result with the nisab.
- Scholars differ on some points. The tool shows these as choices with a short note: the nisab weights and standard, jewelry, RRSPs and the year type.
The formula
net zakatable = zakatable assets − eligible debts. If the result is at or above the nisab threshold, zakat is net zakatable × rate, 2.5% for a lunar (hijri) year, or 2.577% (= 2.5% × 365.25/354.37) if you anchor your zakat date to the Gregorian calendar, the 11-day adjustment endorsed by AAOIFI and contemporary fiqh bodies. Below nisab, no zakat is due.
Nisab, both standards
Nisab is 20 dinar of gold or 200 dirham of silver. Bodies convert these to grams in two ways: 87.48 g of gold or 612.36 g of silver (Islamic Relief Canada, Hidaya, NZF UK) or 85 g or 595 g (NZF Canada, AAOIFI). Pick one under Nisab weights; the default is 87.48 g / 612.36 g. At spot prices of October 31, 2026 that is about C$15,228 (gold) and C$1,347 (silver), or C$14,796 and C$1,309 with 85 g / 595 g. The silver standard is the default here because NZF Canada and Islamic Relief recommend it: the lower threshold means more people pay zakat and more reaches the poor.
Asset treatments
Cash, chequing, savings and TFSAs count at full value. Non-registered investments count at full market value if actively traded; for long-term passive holdings the 30% proxy option approximates the companies' underlying liquid assets (NZF/IFG endorse ~25%, Wahed ~30%). Gold and silver count at metal weight × spot price; if you exclude worn jewelry (Maliki/Shafi'i/Hanbali view), enter the worn grams and they are subtracted. RRSPs, when included, count at 70% of market value, the accessible value after an assumed 30% withdrawal withholding tax (majority North-American view per NZF Canada and AMJA). Business inventory held for sale and collectible receivables count in full; equipment and premises do not.
Debt deduction
Deduct arrears, bills due, and short-term debts settled within the next 12 months. For long-term debt (mortgage, student loan, car loan), deduct at most the next 12 months of principal payments, never interest, and NZF guidance suggests taking even that only if paying zakat would strain your ability to service the debt. Debts can never push the base below zero.
The two charts
Where you stand against nisab. The bar is your net zakatable wealth on a scale from $0 to twice the gold nisab, fixed so the two ticks stay put while you type. The ticks are the silver nisab and the gold nisab (the weights you picked × spot) at the same prices as the threshold above. Zakat is due once the bar reaches the tick for the standard you picked, the same "at or above nisab" test as the result; the tinted stretch from that tick on marks it. Wealth past the end of the scale fills the bar, and the figure beside it is always the full amount. When your wealth sits between the two ticks, the standard you choose decides whether zakat is due this year.
From what you own to net zakatable wealth. Each amount you entered goes in at full value (metal at grams × spot). Each rule that keeps part of it out follows as its own step: investments × 70% under the 30% passive proxy, worn grams × spot when worn jewelry is excluded, RRSP × 30% for the assumed withdrawal tax (or the whole RRSP if you leave it out), then debts due within 12 months, never more than your zakatable assets. The last bar is the net figure zakat is calculated on. Zakat itself is the headline result above: at 2.5% it would barely show on the same scale.
What this doesn't model
Hawl timing per asset: classically each asset must be held a full lunar year, and schools differ on mid-year dips below nisab. Also not modelled: agricultural and livestock zakat (different rates and thresholds), khums, RESP grant clawback nuances, jewelry purity adjustments (enter fine-metal weight), and the layered RRSP calculation (equity proxy × after-tax factor). When in doubt, ask a qualified scholar.
FAQ
Should I use the gold or silver nisab? Silver (~C$1,347 at 612.36 g), recommended by NZF Canada and Islamic Relief because the lower threshold benefits more recipients.
Do I pay zakat on my RRSP and TFSA? TFSA: yes, fully, at market value, withdrawals are tax- and penalty-free. RRSP: the majority view is to pay annually on the after-tax accessible value; a minority view defers until withdrawal. Locked-in accounts (LIRA, unvested pensions) are generally exempt until accessible.
Do I pay zakat on jewelry I wear? Hanafi: yes, all gold and silver jewelry. Maliki/Shafi'i/Hanbali: regularly worn personal jewelry is exempt, but stored or investment pieces still count.
Who receives zakat? The 8 categories in Quran 9:60: the poor, the needy, zakat administrators, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, freeing captives, the overwhelmed debtor, in the cause of Allah, and the stranded traveller. Not your spouse, parents or children, but siblings, aunts/uncles and cousins in need are eligible.
Lunar vs solar year? 2.5% per lunar year is the classic rate; use 2.577% if you calculate on the same Gregorian date each year.
Common questions
What is nisab and what is it in Canadian dollars right now?
Nisab is the minimum wealth that makes zakat obligatory: 612.36 g of silver (about C$1,347) or 87.48 g of gold (about C$15,228) at spot prices of October 31, 2026. Some bodies, such as NZF Canada, use 595 g of silver and 85 g of gold instead (about C$1,309 and C$14,796); the calculator lets you pick either set of weights. NZF Canada and Islamic Relief recommend the silver standard because the lower threshold means more zakat reaches the poor.
Do I pay zakat on my RRSP and TFSA?
TFSAs are fully zakatable at market value since withdrawals are tax- and penalty-free. For RRSPs the majority North-American view (NZF Canada, AMJA) is to pay annually on the accessible after-tax value, commonly the balance minus roughly 30% withholding tax; a minority view defers zakat until funds are withdrawn. Locked-in accounts like LIRAs are generally exempt until they become accessible.
Do I pay zakat on gold jewelry I actually wear?
It depends on the school. The Hanafi school holds that all gold and silver jewelry is zakatable regardless of personal use. The Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools exempt jewelry regularly worn for personal adornment, though stored or investment jewelry remains zakatable in all schools.
Who can receive zakat?
Only the 8 categories in Quran 9:60: the poor, the needy, zakat administrators, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, freeing captives, those in overwhelming debt, in the cause of Allah, and stranded travellers. Zakat cannot go to your spouse, parents or children, but siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins in need are eligible.
What if I use the regular calendar instead of the Islamic calendar?
The classic rate is 2.5% per lunar (hijri) year. If you anchor your zakat date to the Gregorian calendar, use 2.577% instead, the 2.5% rate scaled by 365.25/354.37 to account for the solar year being about 11 days longer, an adjustment endorsed by AAOIFI and contemporary fiqh bodies.