Learn · Track 4: Costs, tax and zakat · lesson 3 of 3 · Beginner
Zakat on shares in Pakistan: nisab, rate, mistakes
Today's silver-standard nisab in rupees, what counts as zakatable in a PSX portfolio, the 2.5% rate, the CDC deduction most people misread, and when to pay.
By the SuperX research team · Reviewed by Umair Aslam, Co-founder & CEO · Published
Zakat on shares is 2.5% of the value of your holdings, due once a lunar year, if your total zakatable wealth has stayed above the nisab for that year. The nisab many scholars apply to cash and shares is the silver standard, 612.36 grams of silver, which on 3 Nov 2026, in SuperX’s nisab tool, is Rs 275,732 at Rs 450.28 per gram. A portfolio worth Rs 1,000,000 plus Rs 50,000 cash in the broker account owes Rs 26,250. The compulsory deduction the company takes from your dividends does count toward that figure, but it is a small fraction of it, and mistaking one for the other is the most common error. The nisab moves with the silver price, so read today’s figure on the tool.
The nisab in rupees today
Nisab is the wealth threshold below which zakat is not due. Classical fiqh sets it in metal: 87.48 grams of gold or 612.36 grams of silver (the 52.5 tola figure most Pakistani scholars quote). For cash, bank balances and shares, the silver standard is the one generally applied, because it is the lower of the two and therefore the more cautious: more people qualify to pay.
Because silver is priced in dollars and the rupee floats, the nisab moves every day. The tool computes silver in USD per ounce × USD/PKR ÷ 31.1035 grams per ounce × 612.36 grams. Here is the calculation behind SuperX’s figure on 3 Nov 2026 (source: the nisab tool, which reads the gold-api and er-api feeds).
| Input | Value as of 3 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|
| Silver quantity | 612.36 g (52.5 tola) |
| Silver price | USD 50.609 per troy ounce |
| Exchange rate | Rs 276.7335 per USD |
| Silver in rupees | Rs 450.28 per gram |
| Silver-standard nisab | Rs 275,732 |
An earlier version of this post showed Rs 366,542 for 6 Sep 2026 (silver at USD 67.108, USD/PKR 277.43). That figure was not wrong, only old: the formula is the same, and silver became cheaper. The committed SuperX snapshots show the path:
| Date | Silver (USD per oz) | USD/PKR | Silver-standard nisab (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2026 | 63.361 | 277.5896 | 346,277 |
| 19 Sep 2026 | 66.367 | 277.2812 | 362,302 |
| 30 Sep 2026 | 61.598 | 276.9628 | 335,881 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 60.949 | 276.8832 | 332,247 |
| 19 Oct 2026 | 57.116 | 276.9902 | 311,473 |
| 3 Nov 2026 | 50.609 | 276.7335 | 275,732 |
From 19 Sep to 3 Nov silver fell 23.7% and the nisab fell 23.9%, while USD/PKR moved from 277.28 to 276.73. The Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 (section 2(xva), Pakistan Code) defines the nisab for general assets as the value of 612.32 grams of silver, and for a person whose assets are only gold as 87.48 grams of gold. The tool uses 52.5 tola, which is 612.36 grams; the 0.04 gram difference is about Rs 18 at the 3 Nov price.
The tool does not show a gold-standard nisab, so anyone who prefers the gold standard has to work it out from the gold price. Many scholars call the silver standard the precautionary view, because it is the lower of the two and more people qualify to pay. Separately, the nisab for compulsory deduction from bank accounts is notified for each zakat year by the Administrator General of Zakat under the same Ordinance; for Ramadan 1447 AH (2026) press reports gave Rs 503,529 (Daily Pakistan, 17 Feb 2026; the State Bank circular itself did not open for us). It is set once a year, so it does not compare directly with the daily figure.
What counts in a share portfolio
Zakat is due on wealth held for growth or trade. For a PSX investor that means the current market value of shares, cash sitting in the brokerage or CDC account, dividends received and not yet spent, and money committed to an IPO subscription that has not been refunded. Debts falling due within the year (a margin loan, an unpaid credit-card balance) are, in the common scholarly view, deducted first.
Valuation is at market on your zakat date, not at cost. The Ordinance’s Second Schedule, which sets the self-assessment basis, puts listed shares at 2.5% of market value (the stock exchange’s closing rate). If you bought a share at Rs 150 and it trades at Rs 207, zakat is on Rs 207. If you bought at Rs 250, it is still on Rs 207. Unrealised loss does not reduce the obligation below what the shares are worth today, and unrealised gain does not escape it.
There is a well-known scholarly distinction between shares bought to trade and shares bought to hold for dividends. For trading positions, the ruling is straightforward: 2.5% of market value. For long-term holdings, a number of scholars hold that zakat is due only on your proportional share of the company’s zakatable assets (cash, receivables, inventory) rather than on fixed assets like plant and land, which in practice is often approximated as a percentage of market value. Others apply market value to everything. SuperX’s default is full market value, which is the higher figure; a long-term investor following the proportional view can adjust the number, and should ask a qualified scholar rather than a blog which view to follow.
Shariah compliance of the stock itself is a separate question. Zakat is due on a holding whether or not the company passes the KMI screen; the KSE-100 versus KMI-30 guide explains how that screen works.
The CDC deduction most people misread
Pakistan’s Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980 (First Schedule, item 8; Pakistan Code) requires companies to deduct zakat at source from the dividends of Muslim shareholders. The deduction is 2.5% of the value on the first day of Ramadan: for a listed share, the paid-up value (the face value, usually Rs 10) or the market value, whichever is lower. For a share that trades above its face value, that is the face value. It is not taken from the dividend of a Muslim shareholder who has filed a CZ-50 declaration, a sworn declaration in the prescribed form, at least 30 days before the first day of Ramadan, with the company’s registrar or with their CDC participant or investor account services (section 1(3) of the Ordinance; company notices, such as one on the PSX website, say “before the first day of Ramadan”, so file early). The same wording is used in withholding tax on PSX dividends, in PSX dividends explained and in the Urdu posts on dividends (dividend kya hai) and on zakat, so all five say the same thing.
The arithmetic on 1,000 shares of Pakistan Oilfields (POL), which closed at Rs 662.45 on 3 Nov 2026 (SuperX API) and went ex-dividend on 12 Oct 2026 for Rs 72.50 per share, 725% of face (SuperX snapshot, see the POL dividend page):
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Face value of 1,000 shares | Rs 10,000 |
| Compulsory zakat deducted from the dividend (2.5% of face) | Rs 250 |
| Market value of 1,000 shares | Rs 662,450 |
| Zakat due on market value (2.5%) | Rs 16,561 |
| Still to pay yourself | Rs 16,311 |
The Rs 250 is real zakat and can be netted off. But the deduction is on face value, which is not tied to the market price, so it covers about 1.5% of what is due on this holding. Anyone who assumes “the company deducts my zakat” is under-paying by roughly 66 times. Companies that pay no dividend deduct nothing at all. The dividend mechanics post shows where this deduction appears on a payout notice.
Common mistakes
Beyond the deduction confusion, the same handful of errors come up every year.
Using cost instead of market value is the most frequent. Your broker’s screen shows both; zakat uses the second column.
Forgetting cash and dividends. Cash in the broker account waiting to be deployed is zakatable, and so is a dividend that landed last week. Investors who track only shares under-count.
Picking the gold nisab to fall below the threshold. Nisab exists to exempt the genuinely poor, not to let a five-lakh portfolio opt out. Use silver.
Not deducting short-term debts. In the common scholarly view the obligation is on net wealth. A margin loan that has to be repaid this year reduces the base; a long mortgage generally does not.
Ignoring the hawl. Zakat is due once wealth has stayed above nisab for a full lunar year, about 354 days. For your own payment, the trigger in this view is the anniversary of the date you first crossed the nisab, though many people choose Ramadan for the reward of giving then. The compulsory deduction from dividends has its own date: the Ordinance values it on the first day of Ramadan. Whichever date you pick for your own payment, keep it fixed year to year.
Double-counting a deduction that was never made. Check the dividend advice from your broker or the CDC statement before crediting yourself with a Rs 250 deduction; if you filed a CZ-50, none was taken.
When to pay
Pay on your hawl anniversary, valued as of that day. If you are paying in Ramadan for the first time, that becomes your date going forward. Compute the figure on that morning using closing prices from the previous session, subtract the compulsory deductions already taken from your dividends during the year, and pay the balance to the recipients or institutions you have chosen. Keep the working; it is the easiest way to see next year whether your obligation is growing with your portfolio.
How SuperX helps
The nisab tool shows the live silver-standard nisab in rupees, recomputed daily from the silver price and the exchange rate, with the inputs and the date visible; the 3 Nov 2026 figures above are its output for that day. The help article Zakat on your PSX portfolio says how the app uses it. Inside the app, the zakat calculator values your tracked holdings at market on your chosen anniversary, adds cash, subtracts the debts you enter, compares the total against that nisab, and shows 2.5% of the net figure with a countdown to the date. It is a calculation aid; for the choice between full market value and the proportional view, ask a scholar.
This is education, not investment advice.
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