When is Zakat due? The lunar year and your Zakat date
Zakat is tied to time as well as amount. It becomes due when a full lunar year has passed on wealth that has stayed above the Nisab threshold — measured from a date you set once and keep.
Zakat is due after one lunar year (hawl, about 354 days) passes on wealth held above Nisab. Pick the date your wealth first reached Nisab as your annual Zakat date and calculate on that date each Hijri year. Many people choose Ramadan for the extra reward, but Zakat is not tied to Ramadan.
One lunar year of ownership.
The hawl is the period of one lunar (Hijri) year — roughly 354 days, about eleven days shorter than the solar year. Zakat on wealth becomes due when a full hawl has elapsed on wealth that remained at or above Nisab throughout. Because the lunar year is shorter, a Zakat date fixed to the Hijri calendar drifts earlier against the Gregorian calendar each year.
If you prefer to calculate on a fixed Gregorian date for convenience, some scholars permit a slightly higher rate (about 2.577%) to account for the eleven extra days. The default and simplest approach remains the lunar year at 2.5%.
Anchor to when you first reached Nisab.
Your Zakat date is the anniversary, in the lunar calendar, of the day your wealth first reached Nisab. From then on, you calculate on that same date every Hijri year, using the balances and market values as they stand on that day.
- Identify the anchor.
The date your net Zakatable wealth first met the Nisab threshold.
- Repeat annually.
Calculate on that date each lunar year — not whenever you happen to remember.
- Record it.
Keep the date with your worksheet so future calculations use the same anchor.
Common, but not required.
Many Muslims choose to pay Zakat during Ramadan, drawn by the heightened reward of the month and the convenience of a memorable, shared date. That is a worthy choice, but it is a preference, not a rule: Zakat is due when your own hawl completes, whenever in the year that falls.
If your hawl naturally completes in Ramadan, or you deliberately set your anchor there, the two simply align. If your hawl completes at another time, you can still calculate then and give when you wish, provided you do not delay the obligation without cause.
Handling income that comes and goes.
Most people's balances rise and fall during the year. The common approach avoids tracking every individual sum's own anniversary: as long as your total wealth stays above Nisab across the year, you calculate the whole of your qualifying wealth on your single Zakat date. New wealth that arrives during the year is simply included at that date rather than starting its own separate clock.
One date, one snapshot. Value everything you own on your Zakat date, subtract eligible near-term liabilities, and compare the net figure with Nisab.
Questions people ask.
How long is the hawl?+
One lunar (Hijri) year, roughly 354 days — about eleven days shorter than the solar year, so a Hijri-based Zakat date shifts earlier on the Gregorian calendar each year.
Do I have to pay Zakat in Ramadan?+
No. Ramadan is a popular choice for the extra reward and convenience, but Zakat is due when your own lunar year completes, whenever that occurs.
Does each new deposit start its own year?+
In the common approach, no. You calculate all qualifying wealth on your single Zakat date, including money that arrived during the year, provided your total stayed above Nisab.
Use the private calculator.
Your entries are processed in the browser and are not stored.