Eligible cash savings are normally combined with your other zakatable wealth. If the relevant nisab and hawl conditions are met, 2.5% applies to the net eligible amount. Money earmarked for a house, wedding or another future purchase is not automatically exempt merely because you have a plan for it.
Which balances should I collect?
List current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs, money in payment wallets and cash held at home. Convert foreign currencies using a dated exchange rate. Record joint accounts according to actual ownership rather than assuming every joint balance belongs equally to both people.
A savings product’s UK tax treatment does not itself decide Zakat. A cash ISA is still cash. Restricted access, trust ownership or disputed funds can require individual consideration.
New deposits and the annual date
If you already have an established Zakat anniversary, the Hanafi approach generally combines additional cash with that annual assessment. It is therefore misleading to say every new deposit must always remain untouched for its own full year. Other approaches may require different tracking.
A record of your annual date and the method you follow is more useful than guessing based on your account’s lowest or average balance. Consider your total eligible wealth, not just one savings account.
Interest is a separate entry
Interest identified for disposal must be handled separately from Zakat. Our calculator’s cash entries should already exclude that amount. Recording it in the interest field displays a separate disposal amount; it does not subtract it from cash a second time. Ask about any product whose returns you cannot clearly classify.
Worked savings example
Current account £2,400 + eligible savings £5,600 + cash ISA £2,000 = £10,000. With £800 permitted liabilities, net eligible wealth is £9,200. When the relevant conditions are met, £9,200 × 0.025 = £230.
If a £300 transfer from savings to the current account is in transit, count it once, not once on each statement.
Sources & calculation method
These sources inform this guide. A linked source does not endorse this site, and its publication date may differ from this page’s update date.
Scholarly methods can produce different results. See the method choices that affect a Zakat estimate and our editorial policy. This is educational guidance, not a personal ruling or a claim of named scholarly review.
To cite this guide: “Zakat on savings and cash accounts”, World Aid Network, updated 8 September 2026, https://zakat-calculator.org.uk/zakat-on-savings