Question: What is the niṣāb (minimum taxable amount) for gold, and how much must I pay? I possess several gold pieces of jewelry, and six lunar years have passed without my paying zakat on them. The jewelry is not with me here in the Kingdom; should I pay for both the previous year and the current one, or only for the present year? And should I pay now, or wait until I reach the country where the jewelry is kept?
Answer: The niṣāb for gold is twenty mithqāls, which equals approximately eleven and a half Saudi gold sovereigns. The amount due on gold is one quarter of one tenth—that is, 2.5 percent.
With respect to the jewelry you described, the ruling varies according to your intention:
-
If you obtained the jewelry for trade—meaning that you hope to profit from its sale—then its zakat is calculated on its market value, no matter how small or large that value may be. Once its value reaches the niṣāb or more, you must pay one quarter of one tenth on it. At the end of each lunar year you assess its worth at current prices and then pay 2.5 percent, because it has taken the ruling of trade goods.
-
If you acquired the jewelry for safekeeping and saving, not for wearing, then its zakat is based on its weight. When the weight reaches twenty mithqāls or more, you pay one quarter of one tenth of that weight.
-
If the jewelry is kept for personal wear, this is an issue over which the scholars differ:
a. The first opinion is that no zakat is due; it is treated like clothing, houses, and vehicles that a person uses for his own needs, and none of these incur zakat.