Islamic · Zakat
Zakat on Pension & Provident Fund Calculator
Work out zakat on a fund balance — on either the whole accessible balance or your own contributions only, whichever view you follow.
Step by step
How this is worked out
Split your balance
Your contributions, the employer's, and credited profit.
Pick the view you follow
Whole accessible balance, or your own contributions only.
Add your other savings
Nisab is tested on total zakatable wealth.
See zakat due
2.5% of the zakatable amount, once above nisab.
Reading the result
Can you actually get at it?
This is the question the scholarly difference turns on. Many hold that Zakat is due on wealth you own and can access, so money locked in a fund you cannot draw on is not yet zakatable — and becomes so when you receive it.
Others hold that ownership is enough even where access is restricted, which makes the accumulated balance zakatable each year.
Both positions are held by recognised scholars. This calculator does not choose for you; it computes on the basis you select.
Your contribution and your employer's may differ
Some scholars distinguish between money you contributed — which was your salary — and the employer's contribution, which you may not be entitled to until vesting. Where a scheme has a vesting condition you have not yet met, there is a reasonable argument that part of the balance is not yet yours.
Once received, it is ordinary wealth
Whatever view applies while the fund is held, a lump sum paid out on retirement becomes part of your zakatable wealth like any other money from the moment you receive it. Retirees sometimes treat a provident fund payout as a special category; after payment it is not.
Where this stops
This works from the balance and basis you enter. Which basis is correct for you is a religious question, and the terms of your particular scheme — vesting, withdrawal rights, whether the fund is recognised — are what a scholar would want to know.
FAQs
Zakat on pension & provident fund FAQs
Is zakat due on a provident fund balance?
Scholars differ. One view is that any balance you could withdraw is wealth in your effective ownership, so the whole withdrawable amount is zakatable each year. Another is that only your own contributions — what you could reclaim on resignation — are in your control, with the employer portion and credited profit becoming zakatable only once received. Both views are offered above so you can follow the one your scholar advises.
What about a pension I have not started receiving?
A pension you have no right to withdraw as a lump sum is generally not zakatable while it remains out of your control. Pension instalments become zakatable as ordinary cash once received and held to your zakat date.
Do I pay zakat on it every year, or only once?
On the accessible-balance view, zakat falls due annually on the balance held at your zakat date, like any other savings. On the narrower view, the excluded portion is not charged annually and is instead brought into account when it is actually received. Do not double-count amounts you have already paid zakat on.
Is the tax treatment the same as the zakat treatment?
No — they are separate questions. Amounts from an approved provident or gratuity fund can be exempt or partly exempt from income tax under the Income Tax Ordinance, which has no bearing on whether zakat is due. See the Gratuity & Provident Fund Calculator for the payout itself.
Should I include the fund with my other savings?
Yes — zakat applies to your total zakatable wealth against nisab, not to each asset separately. Add your other cash and savings above so the nisab test is applied to the combined figure.
Related tools
Working out the payout itself?
See your gratuity and provident fund maturity value.
Open Gratuity & Provident Fund Calculator