This article is about the mandatory Zakat which is a pillar of Islam and not the voluntary ones like Zakat Al-Fitr in Ramadan.
Is Zakat only due in Ramadan?
No. The obligatory Zakat is four types and each has time to be due but its payment can be anytime during the year and not only during Ramadan.
What to pay Zakat on?
For gold & silver & currencies: must complete a lunar year owing the Nisab threshold.
The Nisab is determined by Dar Ifta in each country depending on the prices of gold and silver there. If your money or assets reached that Nisab you must pay 2.5% of their value as Zakat. You can calculate that by dividing it by 40.
Zakat is payable for owning four things:
Zakat types
- Gold, silver, and currencies.
- Some plants and fruits like Dates, grapes, grains, and rice. Due on time it’s ready for eating or harvested.
- Cattle, sheep, cows, camels. Due every year after completing the Nisab threshold.
- What is offed for sale in a shop like groceries. Due every year after completing the Nisab threshold.
When you calculate Zakat you should include the following:
- Bank deposits, or gold and silver, if they are owned for savings or their abundance exceed the usual wearing limit, if it is only for wearing there is no Zakat on it
- The total value of the stock you hold if you own or run a business.
- Any money in debt to you that you expect to see returned.
As for other money other than these, there is no zakat on it. The furniture that you own, the cars you ride in, the buildings you live in, and the like, and the lands you rent out or the buildings you rent out (unless the income from rental reaches the Nisab) and the like of these things are not subject to zakat.
For more information, you should ask a Sheikh in your county so they can guide you on how and when to pay Zakat. That will help you more In shaa Allah.
