Zakat Guide for Saudi Arabia

Country preparation checklist

• Personal cash and bank balances

  essential

  Gather statements and balances for cash and every personally owned account on the selected calculation date.

  • Current information or value must be verified.

• Gold and silver

  essential

  Record each metal, actual weight, unit, purity, ownership, and independently verified dated price.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Jewellery

  when-applicable

  Separate jewellery from other metal, record non-metal components, and identify treatment questions rather than assuming one universal view.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Business inventory and receivables

  when-applicable

  Keep business cash, inventory, receivables, liabilities, ownership, and personal assets distinct.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Investments and shares

  when-applicable

  Gather statements, ownership, accessible value, asset composition where relevant, and unresolved treatment questions.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Pensions and long-term savings

  when-applicable

  Document plan type, access, restrictions, ownership, statements, and whether amounts are received or remain restricted.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Debts and liabilities

  essential

  Separate currently due, scheduled, disputed, and future amounts; do not assume every future expense is deductible.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Jointly owned assets

  when-applicable

  Establish beneficial ownership percentages from records instead of assigning the full balance or an automatic equal split.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Foreign assets

  when-applicable

  List foreign accounts, investments, business interests, and relevant property income separately with ownership and statement dates.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Multiple currencies

  when-applicable

  Record original amounts and one consistent conversion source, rate, timestamp, and selected calculator currency.

  • Current information or value must be verified.

• Previous Zakat records

  important

  Retain prior calculation dates, assumptions, estimates, adjustments, and payments to prevent gaps or duplicate counting.

• Payment and donation evidence

  essential

  Keep recipient checks, designation, amount, currency, date, reference, and receipt without assuming a donation label proves eligibility.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Gather personal SAR balances

  important

  Record personal cash and accounts separately from company or establishment records.

  • Current information or value must be verified.

• Separate business and regulatory records

  important

  Do not treat a personal calculator estimate as a company return, filing, or compliance result.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Document investments and ownership

  important

  Gather statements, ownership, values, access, and unresolved treatment questions.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Verify gold and jewellery details

  important

  Record actual weight, purity, unit, price source, date, and personal-use questions.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Qualified scholarly guidance is recommended.

• Verify business obligations officially

  important

  Check current ZATCA requirements and obtain professional advice without applying them automatically to personal Zakat.

  • Current information or value must be verified.
  • Professional review may be required.

• Retain donation evidence

  important

  Verify destination and designation, then retain currency, amount, date, reference, and receipt.

  • Current information or value must be verified.

Documents to gather

• Current and foreign bank statements
• Investment, pension, and business statements
• Ownership agreements and joint-account evidence
• Metal inventory, weight, purity, and valuation records
• Liability statements and currently due obligations
• Prior Zakat calculations, payment receipts, and relevant deduction evidence

Currency and valuation checklist

• Use one calculation date or disclose statement-date differences.
• Match metal price to metal, purity, unit, currency, source, and timestamp.
• Record original currency before any conversion.
• Use one independently verified conversion source and timestamp.
• Keep calculator inputs and manual adjustments reviewable.

Prepare your calculation

Country selection does not change calculator formulas, profiles, inputs, currencies, or results. Calculator outputs remain estimates, conversions are not automatic unless an existing tool explicitly performs them, and you remain responsible for every entered value.

1. 1.

   Choose a calculation date

   Use one documented date or explain unavoidable statement-date differences.

2. 2.

   List assets

   Use the shared preparation categories and list each asset once.

3. 3.

   Separate ownership shares

   Record beneficial ownership rather than assuming account labels establish the share.

4. 4.

   Identify eligible liabilities

   Enter only the amount allowed under the methodology you have chosen.

5. 5.

   Verify metal purity and weight

   Keep purity, weight, unit, stones, and non-metal parts visible.

6. 6.

   Verify metal prices

   Record an external source, timestamp, currency, unit, and purity basis.

7. 7.

   Record currencies

   Preserve original currencies for every account and valuation.

8. 8.

   Document conversions

   Use one consistent independently verified rate, source, and timestamp.

9. 9.

   Select a Nisab basis

   Choose deliberately; a country page never selects or changes the profile.

10. 10.

    Check Hawl questions

    Record timing assumptions and seek guidance where asset treatment differs.

11. 11.

    Run relevant calculators

    Enter verified values yourself; country selection does not alter formulas or defaults.

12. 12.

    Review unusual circumstances

    Identify business, ownership, pension, cross-border, legal, or regulatory questions.

13. 13.

    Seek scholarly guidance

    Ask a qualified scholar where personal religious treatment remains uncertain.

14. 14.

    Save calculation records

    Retain inputs, outputs, assumptions, sources, and manual adjustments for review.

15. 15.

    Verify the payment destination

    Confirm identity, instructions, Zakat designation, eligibility process, amount, currency, and receipt.

Cross-border assets and multiple currencies

• List foreign accounts, overseas investments, business ownership, and relevant property income separately.
• Record remittances as transfers so the same wealth is not counted twice.
• Document original currency, statement date, ownership share, conversion source, rate, and timestamp.
• Do not assume every foreign asset receives identical religious treatment.
• Seek qualified professional advice for local tax, reporting, company, or legal questions.

Record-keeping checklist

Keep records for your own review and for any professional, regulatory, or scholarly consultation. No universal legal retention period is stated.

• Calculation date and asset categories
• Ownership percentages and supporting records
• Bank, investment, pension, and business statements
• Gold and silver weights, units, purity assumptions, and non-metal components
• Metal-price source and timestamp
• Exchange-rate source and timestamp
• Liability evidence and selected treatment
• Hawl assumptions and selected Nisab basis
• Calculator results and any manual adjustments
• Professional or scholarly advice relied upon
• Payment receipts, charity verification, and any relevant statutory deduction evidence

Payment and charity verification

• Confirm the organisation’s identity and official website.
• Check current registration or regulator information where applicable.
• Verify current payment instructions independently; avoid links from unknown messages.
• Confirm whether Zakat is accepted and whether funds can be designated.
• Record receipt availability, payment reference, date, currency, and amount.
• Review failed-payment or refund handling without assuming a completed transfer guarantees fulfilment.

Administrative and professional verification

• Verify current administrative information through the relevant official authority.
• Keep religious treatment separate from tax, legal, filing, banking, and regulatory requirements.
• Obtain qualified professional advice for a personal business, tax, reporting, or legal conclusion.

Where to verify current information

• ZATCA for current business or regulatory administration
• The selected organisation’s verified official website
• A qualified Saudi legal, tax, or accounting professional

Practical illustrative example

Common preparation mistakes

• Mixing currencies without conversion records or relabelling one currency as another.
• Using an undated metal price, mismatched unit, or unverified purity.
• Combining personal and business assets without establishing ownership.
• Counting jointly owned assets at 100% or deducting unsupported liabilities.
• Treating tax treatment, a bank deduction, a charity label, or a calculator estimate as a universal religious conclusion.
• Using different valuation dates without explanation or losing payment receipts.
• Using a personal estimate as a corporate ZATCA return or compliance conclusion.

Annual review checklist

• Confirm the review date and compare it with the prior record.
• Update ownership, balances, metal details, investments, business records, and liabilities.
• Refresh price, currency, Nisab, and Hawl assumptions.
• Reconcile previous payments or verified deductions without double counting.
• Retain the reviewed estimate, advice, destination checks, and payment evidence.