Nisab in naira on 8 September 2026 works out at roughly N1.56 million using the silver standard (595 grams at N2,614.33 per gram) or roughly N15.12 million using the gold standard (85 grams at N177,899.90 per gram), based on the spot prices published by livepriceofgold.com at 12:29 UTC that day and a naira rate close to the CBN's NFEM rate of N1,331.69 to the dollar. If your zakatable wealth (cash, bank balances, shares, business stock and money owed to you, less debts due now) has stayed above whichever threshold you follow for a full lunar year, you owe 2.5% of it. The arithmetic for salary earners, savers in non-interest banks and traders holding stock follows, with the zakat hub and its naira calculator for the final sum.
Ready to compare halal options?
The two nisab standards and why the gap is so wide
Nisab is the minimum wealth below which zakat is not due. Classical fiqh fixes it in metal, not currency: 20 mithqal of gold, conventionally 85 grams, or 200 dirhams of silver, conventionally 595 grams. When gold and silver traded at a fixed ratio those two thresholds were close. Today they are not. On 8 September 2026 gold was quoted at N177,899.90 per gram of 24-karat and silver at N2,614.33 per gram of 999 fine, a ratio of about 68 to 1, so the gold nisab is almost ten times the silver one.
Which you use is a scholarly choice, not a calculation. Many scholars favour silver because it brings more people into zakat and benefits the poor; many Nigerian calculators, including the one published by Lotus Capital, offer both. The practical consequence is that a salaried Nigerian with N3 million in savings is above nisab under silver and below it under gold. Our complete zakat guide covers the fiqh positions; this piece is about getting the naira figure right on the day.
Nisab in naira on 8 September 2026: the arithmetic
The figures below are a worked example for one day, not a standing rule. Gold and silver move daily and the naira moves with them, so recompute on your own hawl date from a live price source. We used livepriceofgold.com because it publishes a per-gram naira price with a timestamp; it converted at N1,325.13 to the dollar, within half a percent of the CBN's official NFEM rate of N1,331.6875 published for 5 October 2026. If you prefer, take the dollar price per ounce from a bullion source, divide by 31.1035 for grams, and multiply by the CBN rate yourself.
| Standard | Weight | Price per gram (6 Oct 2026) | Nisab in naira |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver (999) | 595 g | N2,614.33 | N1,555,526 |
| Gold (24k) | 85 g | N177,899.90 | N15,121,492 |
| Zakat rate on wealth above nisab | 2.5% | On N2,000,000: N50,000 | On N20,000,000: N500,000 |
Two cautions. The per-gram figures are spot prices; a Lagos jeweller will quote 22-karat and add a margin, and that retail price is not the one to use. And nisab is the threshold, not the base: once you are above it, zakat is 2.5% of everything zakatable, not 2.5% of the excess over nisab.
Zakat on salary: the two methods that work in Nigeria
Salary itself is not zakatable at the moment it is paid; what you hold at the end of the lunar year is. A worker on N400,000 a month who spends N380,000 and saves N20,000 does not pay zakat on N4.8 million of income; she pays on the N240,000 (plus any earlier savings) sitting in her accounts on her hawl date, if the total is above nisab. The two accepted ways to run this are below. Pick one and keep it, because switching methods year to year is how people under-pay without noticing.
- Single hawl date: choose one lunar date (many Nigerians use 1 Ramadan or 27 Ramadan), add up every zakatable asset you own on that date regardless of when the money arrived, subtract debts that are due immediately, and pay 2.5% if the net is above nisab. This is the majority position and the simplest to audit.
- Monthly accrual: if your savings fluctuate wildly or you want to pay as you go, set aside 2.5% of each month's net savings and pay it out on your hawl date, then true up against the single-date calculation so you have not overpaid or underpaid.
- Either way, exclude the month's salary you have just received if it is already committed to rent, school fees or other obligations falling due before the next pay day; include it if it is simply sitting there.
- Money you are owed and expect to recover (a loan to a friend, a deposit with a landlord that will be refunded) counts as yours; money you owe and must pay within the year comes off.
Zakat on savings in Jaiz, TAJBank, Lotus Bank and The Alternative Bank
Balances in non-interest banks are zakatable in full at the hawl date, whether the account is a qard current account or a mudarabah savings or investment account. The only wrinkle is accrued but uncredited mudarabah profit. Jaiz, TAJBank and the others distribute profit on their own schedules, and until it hits your account it is a contingent claim rather than cash. Most practitioners count the balance shown in the app on the hawl date and leave future profit to next year; if the bank has declared a profit share that is merely awaiting posting, include it. Our Mudarabah savings explainer describes how those profit postings work at each bank.
Term deposits and locked plans are zakatable even though you cannot withdraw them, because they remain your property. Hajj savings plans are zakatable until the money is actually paid to the pilgrimage board. If you hold several accounts across the banks compared in the bank accounts hub, add them together; zakat is assessed on the person, not per account.
Zakat on business stock for traders and shop owners
Trade goods are zakatable at their current selling value on the hawl date, not at what you paid. A Kano textile trader who bought stock for N6 million that now retails for N9 million counts N9 million. The widely used method is: stock at current selling price, plus cash in the business, plus receivables you expect to collect, minus payables due within the year, then 2.5% of the result if it is above nisab. Fixed assets you use to run the business (the shop, the generator, the delivery van, the sewing machines) are not zakatable; only what you hold for sale is.
Two practical points. Count stock at the price you would actually get today, which for slow-moving lines may be below cost; do not count aspirational prices. And if your business is financed by murabaha from a non-interest bank, the instalments due within the year are deductible debt, but the whole facility is not.
Shares, funds, sukuk and your RSA balance
Shares bought to trade are zakatable at market value, like stock. Shares bought to hold for dividends are, on the view most Nigerian scholars apply, zakatable on the dividend received and on the company's zakatable assets per share where that can be found, though many simply pay on full market value to be safe. Units in a halal fund such as the Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund or a Stanbic Shariah fund are zakatable at the unit value on the day. FGN sukuk are zakatable at face value plus any rental received and not yet spent.
Pension balances are the contested case. Fund VI RSA money is yours but locked by PenCom rules until retirement, and scholars differ on whether zakat is due annually, once on access, or not at all on the locked portion. Our zakat on investments and pensions article sets out the positions; the retirement hub explains how Fund VI itself works.
A worked example in naira
Take a Lagos civil servant on her hawl date of 1 Ramadan. She has N1.9 million in a TAJBank mudarabah savings account, N350,000 in a qard current account, N600,000 in the Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund, N150,000 in cash, and a friend owes her N200,000 she expects back. She owes N400,000 in school fees due next month. Zakatable wealth: 1,900,000 + 350,000 + 600,000 + 150,000 + 200,000 = N3,200,000, less N400,000 = N2,800,000. That is above the silver nisab of about N1.56 million, so she owes 2.5% of N2,800,000, which is N70,000. Under the gold standard she would be below the N15.12 million threshold and owe nothing.
Now a Kano trader. Stock at selling price N12 million, cash and bank N1.5 million, receivables N800,000, murabaha instalments due within twelve months N2.3 million. Net: 12,000,000 + 1,500,000 + 800,000 = N14,300,000, less N2,300,000 = N12,000,000. Zakat at 2.5% is N300,000, due under the silver standard. He is below the gold threshold too, which is why the choice of standard matters more in Nigeria this year than in most.
Gold jewellery, dollars and other assets people forget
Gold held as an investment (bars, coins, a vault account) is zakatable at today's price per gram multiplied by weight; the gold investing guide covers how to hold it halal. Gold jewellery worn regularly is exempt in the Maliki and Shafi'i views that dominate Nigerian practice, and zakatable in the Hanafi view; if your jewellery exceeds nisab on its own, take a ruling rather than guessing. Dollars in a domiciliary account convert at the rate on the day; use the CBN NFEM rate or your bank's buying rate, and be consistent.
Cryptocurrency you hold is treated as a tradeable asset by those who permit it and is zakatable at naira value. Rent due to you is zakatable when received. The house you live in, your car, your furniture and your tools are not zakatable at all.
The decision
If you are a salaried saver with between N1.5 million and N15 million in zakatable assets, decide today which nisab standard you follow, because on 8 September 2026 prices that single choice determines whether you owe anything. The silver standard is the safer act of worship and the one most Nigerian zakat boards and calculators default to; if you follow it, set a hawl date, total your Jaiz, TAJBank, Lotus Bank, AltBank and fund balances on that date, deduct debts due within the year, and pay 2.5%.
If you are a trader, count stock at selling price and keep the valuation sheet; it is the document a zakat board or an heir will want. Everyone should recompute nisab from a live price on the day rather than reuse this article's figures, which will be wrong by the time you read them. The naira zakat calculator does the arithmetic once you have the inputs. Facts checked against livepriceofgold.com, cbn.gov.ng, lotuscapitallimited.com on 8 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the nisab in naira today?
On 8 September 2026, about N1.56 million by the silver standard (595 g at N2,614.33 per gram) or about N15.12 million by the gold standard (85 g at N177,899.90 per gram), using livepriceofgold.com spot prices at 12:29 UTC. The figure changes daily; recompute it from a live source on your own hawl date.
Do I pay zakat on my gross salary?
No. Zakat is on what you still hold at your hawl date, not on income as it is earned. Total your bank balances, fund units, cash and recoverable loans on one lunar date, subtract debts due within the year, and pay 2.5% if the net is above nisab. Spent salary is gone and is not counted.
Is money in a non-interest bank zakatable?
Yes, in full. Qard current accounts, mudarabah savings, investment accounts and term deposits at Jaiz, TAJBank, Lotus Bank, The Alternative Bank or Summit Bank are all your property and are counted at the balance shown on your hawl date, even if locked. Future undistributed mudarabah profit is not counted until it is credited.
How do I value business stock for zakat?
At the price you could sell it for today, not at cost. Add business cash and collectable receivables, subtract payables due within twelve months, and pay 2.5% of the result if it is above nisab. Shop fittings, vehicles, machinery and other assets you use rather than sell are not zakatable.
Should I use the gold or silver nisab?
Most Nigerian scholars and calculators default to silver because it is lower and so more people fulfil the obligation, and because the Prophetic hadith fixing nisab in dirhams is the more explicit text. Gold is also a valid standard. Choose one, record it, and apply it consistently every year rather than switching to whichever is convenient.
Compare providers in your state
See side-by-side comparisons of Shariah-compliant products, or let our matcher recommend the best options for your situation.
Is zakat due on my RSA or Fund VI pension balance?
Scholars differ. One view treats the RSA as inaccessible and defers zakat until you can draw it; another counts it annually like any other asset; a third pays once on the lump sum at retirement. Follow a scholar you trust and apply the view consistently; our pensions and investments article sets out the arguments.
