Zakat for Overseas Pakistanis

The calculator below opens in the currency of the country you are in (riyals in Saudi Arabia, dirhams in the UAE, pounds in the UK, rupees in Pakistan) with the Bank, Cash and Gold tiles open. Tap Change to switch to any other currency, for example rupees if most of your savings are back home; what matters is that every amount is in the same currency.

Nisab today in Gulf, UK and Pakistani currency

Currency	Silver nisab (612.35 g)	Gold nisab (87.48 g)
Saudi riyal (SAR)	SAR 4,002	SAR 42,715
UAE dirham (AED)	AED 3,919	AED 41,832
Qatari riyal (QAR)	QAR 3,884	QAR 41,462
British pound (GBP)	£800	£8,538
Pakistani rupee (PKR)	Rs 2,95,599	Rs 31,55,387

The weights are the same everywhere; only the price changes. Silver and gold are priced at the same international rate in each currency, so the nisab is the same wealth whichever currency you use. Which of the two applies to you depends on your madhab; see nisab today.

Which currency should I use?

Most people working abroad have money in two places: a salary account in Riyadh, Dubai, Doha or London, and savings, gold or a plot back home. Zakat is worked out on all of it together, on one date.

• Pick one currency for the sum. Many scholars say to value wealth in the currency of the place where you live, or where most of your wealth is. In practice, use the currency you think in. Because the nisab moves with the same gold and silver price, the answer is the same.
• Convert at the rate on your zakat date, not the rate when you sent the money home or the rate you hope to get. Use an ordinary market rate; the calculator does this for you when you switch currency.
• Count wealth in both countries. Your bank balance abroad, your Pakistani accounts, cash at home with your family if it is yours, gold kept in Pakistan, and any plot bought to sell are all part of the total.
• Keep the same zakat date wherever you live. Zakat follows the lunar year (hawl) of your wealth, not your visa or your tax year. See hawl and your zakat date.

Does a Pakistani bank deduct zakat from overseas Pakistanis?

The 1 Ramadan bank deduction under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 applies to rupee savings and similar accounts that are at or above the government’s deduction nisab. Foreign currency accounts are generally not subject to the compulsory deduction. Whether a rupee savings account held by a non-resident is deducted depends on how the bank has classified the account; if you are not sure, check with your bank before Ramadan.

Either way, the bank deduction is not your full zakat. If something was deducted, subtract it from the total you calculate. If nothing was deducted, you pay all of it yourself. The guide to bank zakat deduction in Pakistan explains the deduction, the CZ-50 form and how to avoid paying twice.

Gulf countries do not deduct zakat from employees’ personal accounts, and neither does the UK, so zakat on your savings abroad is always yours to pay.

Worked example

Imran works in Jeddah and follows the Hanafi madhab. On his zakat date he has SAR 30,000 in his Saudi account and SAR 2,000 in cash. In Pakistan he has Rs 4,00,000 in a savings account (the bank deducted nothing this year) and his wife’s 3 tola of 22K gold jewellery, which is hers, not his. He owes a friend SAR 5,000, due now. Take an example rate of Rs 75 to one riyal.

• Saudi bank and cash: SAR 32,000.
• Pakistani savings: Rs 4,00,000 / 75 = SAR 5,333.
• His wife’s jewellery is not counted in his zakat; she owns it, so it is part of her own zakat.
• Debt due now: minus SAR 5,000 (Hanafi).

Total: SAR 32,333, above the silver nisab of about SAR 4,002 today. Zakat is 2.5% = SAR 808, about Rs 60,600 at the example rate. He may pay it in Saudi Arabia, in Pakistan, or partly in each. In the Ahl-e-Hadith calculation the SAR 5,000 debt is not subtracted, so zakat would be SAR 933. The Shafi’i calculation does not subtract it either, but SAR 37,333 is below the gold nisab it uses (about SAR 42,715 today), so nothing would be due unless his scholar uses the silver nisab.

Can I send my zakat to relatives in Pakistan?

Yes, in the views most Pakistanis follow, if the relatives are eligible to receive zakat. Brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws who are poor or in debt can receive your zakat, with the double reward of charity and family ties. But some people can never receive your zakat:

• Your parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren.
• Your wife (a husband cannot give zakat to his wife).
• Anyone who owns wealth at or above the nisab beyond their needs.

The money you send home every month for your family’s expenses is not zakat. It is support you give anyway, and it does not count even if the person happens to be eligible, unless you intended it as zakat when you gave it and the person is someone who may receive zakat. Zakat needs the intention at the time of giving or when you set the amount aside. See who can receive zakat for the full list.

Can I pay zakat in another country? What each madhab says

Classical scholars discussed sending zakat away from the place where the wealth is (naql al-zakat). Contemporary scholars often allow it when the need is greater elsewhere or the recipients are relatives, but the schools start from different positions:

• Hanafi: zakat sent to another country is valid. Hanafi scholars dislike it without a reason, but sending it to poor relatives or to people in greater need is allowed without dislike. See the Hanafi calculator.
• Shafi’i: the relied-upon position is that zakat should be given in the land where the wealth is, if there are eligible people there. Many contemporary Shafi’i scholars allow sending it where the need is greater; ask yours.
• Maliki: zakat is given locally, but it may be sent elsewhere when people there are in greater need.
• Hanbali: the school’s position is not to send zakat a long distance when there are eligible people locally, although it still counts if sent. Many contemporary Hanbali scholars allow it for relatives or greater need.
• Ahl-e-Hadith: scholars followed by Ahl-e-Hadith readers, such as those of the Saudi Permanent Committee, generally allow sending zakat to another country for a valid reason such as poor relatives or greater need.
• Shia (Ayatollah Sistani): Shia followers of Ayatollah Sistani do not pay zakat on cash, bank balances or jewellery; they pay khums (20%) on the year’s surplus. Sahm-e-imam goes to the marja or an authorised representative, and sahm-e-sadat to needy sayyids, following the office’s rules. Use the khums calculator.

Paying through a charity, or wondering about admin fees and how to check a zakat fund? See giving zakat abroad and through charities. A UK pension, ISA, 401(k) or mortgage? See zakat on pensions, ISAs and mortgages.

For everything in Pakistan in rupees and tola, the Pakistan zakat calculator has fields for committees, prize bonds and plots. If you have a Gulf or UK salary, see zakat on salary.

This is not a fatwa. For questions about your own family or accounts, ask a qualified scholar.

Frequently asked questions