How the hawl runs
The hawl starts on the day your wealth first reaches nisab and completes about 354 days later — one lunar year. When it completes, zakat of 2.5% is due on the wealth you hold that day.
What if the balance dips below nisab mid-year and comes back? Hanafi view: the year continues, provided nisab is held at the start and the end. Shafi'i view: the year restarts from the recovery. Many people sidestep the question entirely by fixing one date — often in Ramadan — and paying on everything held that day.
Paying early, often, or late
Zakat is due when the hawl completes — but it may be paid in advance, or spread in instalments through the year, once nisab is held. Regular monthly giving out of the expected annual total is a common way to do this.
Paying in Ramadan is popular for the extra reward, and it is a fine habit — but it does not move your hawl date. It simply means you settle that year's zakat during Ramadan.
Missed years and Zakat al-Fitr
Missed years remain due. If you were above nisab in past years and paid nothing, estimate honestly — best figures you can reconstruct — and pay the arrears.
Do not confuse zakat with Zakat al-Fitr: a separate, fixed amount of staple food (or its value) per household member, due before the Eid al-Fitr prayer. It is not the wealth zakat this guide describes.
A worked example (illustrative numbers)
Savings first crossed nisab on 1 Ramadan two years ago. This Ramadan, the hawl completes with $10,000 held that day and no immediate debts.
Zakat: 2.5% × $10,000 = $250, due immediately — or payable in advance in instalments during the year, once nisab was held.
Frequently asked questions
When exactly does zakat become due?
When one full lunar year (hawl, about 354 days) passes from the day your wealth first reached nisab — provided it remained above nisab in the sense your school applies. The due is 2.5% of the wealth held on that day.
Can I pay zakat before the year ends?
Yes. Zakat may be paid in advance or spread in instalments once nisab is held; many people give monthly against the expected annual total.
What if my wealth dipped below nisab during the year?
The Hanafi view continues the year if nisab was held at its start and end; the Shafi'i view restarts the year from the dip's recovery. Fixing an annual zakat date and paying on everything held that day is the common practical approach.
I haven't paid zakat for years — what do I do?
Missed years remain due. Reconstruct your best estimate of the wealth held each missed zakat date, apply 2.5%, and pay the arrears. Honesty in the estimate is the requirement.