Zakat calculator for North America and Australia
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The Fiqh Council of North America and AMJA both work from the silver threshold, and the National Zakat Foundation’s US and Australian arms follow suit. The distinctive problem in these countries is not the threshold — it is retirement accounts, which hold a large share of household wealth and sit behind access penalties.
| Weight convention | AAOIFI / majority convention — 85 g gold, 595 g silver |
|---|---|
| Operative threshold | Silver |
| Follows the positions of | FCNA · AMJA · National Zakat Foundation |
| Currencies | US dollar (USD); Canadian dollar (CAD); Australian dollar (AUD) |
North America and Australia use the AAOIFI and majority weight conversion — 85 grams of gold, 595 grams of silver — with silver applied as the operative threshold. The Fiqh Council of North America, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America and the National Zakat Foundation converge on this.
The threshold, in USD
Nisab is a weight of metal, so its value in your currency moves with the market. The figures below are refreshed from live international spot prices when the page loads.
Gram weights are fixed and are stated above. The currency values are indicative: they are rendered into the page as static figures and upgraded to live spot prices when the price feed responds.
Retirement accounts, the question that actually matters here
A 401(k), an IRA, an RRSP or Australian superannuation will often be the largest single asset a Muslim household in these countries holds. Getting its treatment wrong changes the Zakat figure by more than every other input combined.
The scholarly discussion turns on access. Wealth you cannot reach without penalty, or cannot reach at all until a set age, may not be wealth you presently possess in the sense Zakat requires.
The mainstream contemporary position, and the one BarakahFlow implements, is to count the accessible value — the balance net of the early withdrawal penalty and the tax that would fall due. Superannuation, which is generally locked until preservation age, raises the same question more sharply. AMJA and the FCNA have both published on this and they are the right authorities to consult if the sums are large.
Why silver, and what it costs
The silver threshold sits near fourteen hundred dollars against roughly thirteen thousand for gold. The North American bodies take silver for the same reason their British counterparts do: where two defensible thresholds exist, the lower one serves the poor.
This means many students, young professionals and households of modest means are liable in the US and Canada who would not be under a gold threshold. That is the intended result of the position, not an accident of it.
Deductibility, and the American mortgage
Only liabilities falling due within your Zakat year reduce the base. American mortgages run for thirty years and their balances are large; netting one against a savings account would eliminate almost every homeowner’s obligation, which no school permits.
BarakahFlow deducts nothing from a mortgage by default and makes anything wider an explicit, informed choice. Interest is never deductible under any setting — and where interest has been received rather than paid, the app strips it out of your wealth base entirely and tells you plainly that it must be given away separately rather than purified by paying Zakat on it.
A worked example in US dollars
- Checking and savings accounts
- $18,000
- 401(k), net of early withdrawal penalty and tax
- $22,000
- Less: card balances and bills due within the year
- − $4,000
- Zakatable base
- $36,000
- Zakat due at 2.5%
- $900
The silver threshold here is roughly $1,418. Note how much the retirement account drives the outcome: excluded entirely, the base falls to $14,000 and the bill to $350. That single treatment decision is worth more than every other line in this calculation put together, which is why it deserves a scholar’s answer rather than a default.
North America & Australia Zakat, commonly asked
What is the nisab in US dollars?
On the silver threshold of 595 grams, roughly $1,418 at the metal prices current at the time of writing. The gold threshold of 85 grams is roughly $12,994.
FCNA and AMJA both work from silver, so that is the figure most American Muslims use. BarakahFlow prices it from live international spot rates and refreshes while the calculator is open.
Do I pay Zakat on my 401(k)?
The mainstream contemporary position is yes, on the accessible value — the balance net of the early withdrawal penalty and the income tax that would fall due if you took it out today.
A minority position defers Zakat until the funds actually become accessible. BarakahFlow implements the net-accessible treatment and states that it is doing so. Given how much of American Muslim household wealth sits in these accounts, this is worth raising with AMJA or your local scholar rather than accepting a default.
How is an RRSP or Australian superannuation treated?
The same reasoning applies. An RRSP is accessible with a withholding tax and is counted net of it. Australian superannuation is generally locked until preservation age, which strengthens the argument for deferring Zakat until access.
BarakahFlow applies the net-accessible treatment across all three by default and lets you exclude a locked balance if that is the position you follow.
Is Zakat tax-deductible in the United States?
Zakat paid to a registered 501(c)(3) organisation is deductible as a charitable contribution under US tax law, and Canadian and Australian equivalents work similarly through their own registered charity regimes.
The tax treatment has no bearing on the Sharia calculation. Calculate what you owe, pay it, and handle the deduction separately with your accountant.
Can I pay my Zakat monthly instead of annually?
Paying in advance of the due date is permitted by the majority of scholars, so spreading the year’s obligation across twelve payments is generally acceptable provided you reconcile at year end.
What matters is that the full amount actually owed is paid. BarakahFlow records what you have paid against the year and shows the remaining balance, and paying in full restarts your Hawl from the date of payment.
Compare with another method
The same holdings produce different figures under different schools and conventions. Seeing the comparison is the point.
Get the number that actually applies to you.
BarakahFlow applies your school, your region, your currency and your Hawl, values gold at each karat separately, handles debt properly, and keeps a record you can defend three years from now.
BarakahFlow states scholarly positions and attributes them. It does not issue fatwa. For a binding ruling on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified scholar.
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