Zakat on business: stock, cash and udhaar for shopkeepers
How a shopkeeper works out zakat: what to count (cash, bank, stock, udhaar), what to leave out, the nisab, and a worked example in rupees.
Munshi Team · 18 Oct 2026 · 3 min read
Every Ramadan the same question comes up at the counter: how do I work out zakat on the shop? The idea is simple, 2.5% of your zakatable wealth, but a shop has stock, udhaar and supplier bills mixed together, so people get stuck. Here is the usual way shopkeepers count it. For your own case, especially doubtful debts, ask your scholar.
The zakat calculator adds it all up for you.
What you count
- Cash at home and in the galla
- Bank and wallet balances: current account, JazzCash, Easypaisa
- Gold and silver at today's value
- Shop stock kept for sale
- Udhaar you expect to get back from customers
- Committee (BC) money you have paid in and not yet received
What you leave out
The shop itself, the building, the counter, fridges, racks, the generator, the computer and the bike you deliver on. These are things you use to run the shop, not goods for sale. Your house and household things are also not counted.
Subtract what you owe now
Take away supplier bills and loan instalments that are due now. Don't subtract the whole of a long loan, only what is payable. If the shop owes a dealer Rs 2,00,000 this month, that comes off.
The nisab
Zakat is due only if what's left is at or above the nisab, and a full lunar year has passed on it:
- Silver nisab: 52.5 tola (612.36 g) of silver at today's rate
- Gold nisab: 7.5 tola (87.48 g) of gold at today's rate
The silver nisab is much lower, so more people pass it. Many scholars advise using it, because it means more zakat reaches those in need.
A worked example
| Rs | |
|---|---|
| Cash in galla and at home | 1,50,000 |
| Bank and wallet | 2,50,000 |
| Stock at cost | 6,00,000 |
| Udhaar expected back | 80,000 |
| Total | 10,80,000 |
| Less supplier bills due | −2,00,000 |
| Zakatable wealth | 8,80,000 |
| Zakat at 2.5% | 22,000 |
With silver at Rs 5,000 a tola, the silver nisab is Rs 2,62,500, so this shop is well above it.
Stock at cost or at today's price?
Strictly, stock is counted at its value today. Many scholars allow the purchase price because it is easier and close enough for most shops. Whichever you use, use the same way every year.
Getting the numbers ready
The hard part is not the 2.5%. It's knowing the stock value and the udhaar total on the day. In Munshi both are ready: the stock page shows stock value, and the khata shows the total udhaar you are owed ("lena hai"), as of today.
Try it in the zakat calculator, and start free so next year's numbers are ready in one tap.
Try it free in your own business
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