Zakat on a monthly salary is not due on the salary itself when you receive it. It is due on what you save from it once the savings reach the nisab and a full lunar year has passed, as Islamweb explains. The amount due is 2.5% of those savings. If you spend your salary each month and little or nothing remains, no zakat is due on it.
- The nisab is the value of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver.
- The hawl is one lunar year, counted from the day your savings reach the nisab.
- The zakat due is 2.5% of your savings when the year completes.
Is Zakat Due on Salary Every Month?
No. Salary alone does not carry a monthly zakat. Zakat falls on what remains after your spending, once two conditions are met: reaching the nisab and the passing of a lunar year. Savings are counted together with your other money and trade goods when you check the nisab.
If you prefer to pay with each salary, you may, provided your wealth has already reached the nisab. This counts as paying zakat early, before the year completes, according to an Islamweb fatwa (in Arabic).
What Is the Nisab for Zakat on Salary?
It is the same nisab as for money: the value of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver, per an Islamweb fatwa (in Arabic). Convert that value into the currency of your salary. Because gold and silver prices change, do not rely on a fixed figure. For gold values by karat, see How to Calculate Zakat on Gold.
When Does the Zakat Year Start?
The year starts on the day your savings reach the nisab, not on your first day at work, and it is counted by the lunar calendar. If your savings stay at or above the nisab for a full lunar year, zakat is due in the month the year completes. You do not have to wait for Ramadan. For more, read When to Pay Zakat.
How Do I Pay Zakat on Money I Add Each Month?
The fatwa gives two methods for salary received in installments:
- One date for everything: pay zakat on all your savings when the first amount completes its year. This is the easier method and brings more benefit to those who receive zakat.
- A separate year for each amount: pay on each portion when its own year ends. This is valid but difficult.
How to Calculate Zakat on Salary: An Example
A hypothetical example in Qatari riyals: an employee earns QAR 15,000 a month, spends QAR 11,000 and saves QAR 4,000. The savings reach the nisab in the month of Rajab and stay above it for a full lunar year, standing at QAR 70,000 by the next Rajab. Using one date for everything:
- Savings when the year completes: QAR 70,000.
- Rate: 2.5%.
- Zakat due: 70,000 × 2.5% = QAR 1,750.
Is Zakat Due on Money Saved for a Purpose?
Yes. Zakat is due on money you saved for your own needs, your family or their studies, once it reaches the nisab and a lunar year passes, according to Islamweb.
Zakat on Salary: Quick Answers
Is zakat due on a monthly salary?
Not on the salary itself, only on savings from it that reach the nisab and complete a lunar year.
What percentage is zakat on salary?
2.5% of your savings when the year completes.
Can I pay zakat on my salary monthly?
Yes, if your wealth has reached the nisab. It counts as paying zakat early.
Must zakat on salary be paid in Ramadan?
No, it is paid in the month your year completes.
Has your year completed? Pay your zakat now
