Nisab 2026 in Malaysia: Per-State Lookup for Zakat on Savings

Nisab is the wealth threshold above which zakat becomes obligatory. It changes every year with the gold price and varies between Malaysian states because each state's Majlis Agama Islam updates its own figure on its own cadence. Here's the 2026 nisab, why states differ, and the math for working out your own zakat on savings.

What is nisab?

The legal basis: zakat is obligatory on Muslims whose wealth equals or exceeds the value of 85 grams of gold (20 mithqal) and remains at or above that level for a complete lunar year (the haul)². The cash equivalent of 85g of gold at current market price is the nisab in ringgit.

Different wealth types have their own nisab and zakat treatment — see this worked out for zakat on income in Selangor. For zakat on cash savings (zakat wang simpanan), the nisab is the value of 85 grams of gold, the rate is 2.5%, and the base is the lowest savings balance you held for a full haul period⁵.

The 2026 nisab — MAIWP / PPZ

For Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territories), Pusat Pungutan Zakat MAIWP publishes the official annual nisab:

Source: PPZ-MAIWP Arkib Nisab Tahunan¹. The 2026 figure works to RM 399.95 × 85g = RM 33,995.75, rounded up to RM 33,996.

The gold price has climbed steadily: nisab rose 66.8% between 2022 and 2026. If you set your zakat threshold mentally to "around RM 20,000" five years ago, recalibrate — the threshold today is 65% higher.

Why states use different numbers

States publish different nisab values because they use different methodologies¹:

• PPZ-MAIWP (Wilayah Persekutuan) uses the average gold price from the prior calendar year as the nisab benchmark for the current year. Stable; predictable; lags spot price.
• Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) uses the current spot gold price, updated periodically through the year³. More responsive to market; can change mid-year.
• Other states (Penang PPZ, MAIM Melaka, MAIN Negeri Sembilan, MUIP Pahang, MAIK Kelantan, MAIDAM Terengganu, MAIPK Perak, LZNK Kedah, MAIPs Perlis, MAJ Johor, TBS Sarawak, MUIS-SBH Sabah) — methodologies vary; consult your state's official portal.

Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan's Al-Kafi #1811 fatwa addresses this directly: the position is that nisab follows the institutional (state) determination rather than the latest spot price, because the institution provides a stable, consistent reference point⁶. So if you live in Wilayah Persekutuan, use RM 33,996 for 2026 even if spot gold says otherwise.

Haul — the 12-month rule

Zakat is owed only on wealth that remained at or above nisab for a full Islamic-calendar year (354 days, give or take). If your savings dropped below nisab mid-year and recovered, the haul resets at the recovery point. You don't pay zakat on the peak balance — you pay on the lowest balance held throughout the haul.

Practical implication: many people overpay by treating today's balance as the zakat base. The base is the floor, not the ceiling.

If you're uncertain whether your account has remained continuously at or above nisab, the conservative interpretation is to assume yes and pay — but checking the year's lowest balance via your bank statements may legitimately reduce the obligation.

Worked example — RM 50,000 savings

A Wilayah Persekutuan Muslim has RM 50,000 in savings as of today. Throughout the past haul (12 lunar months), the balance never dropped below RM 35,000.

Step 1 — does it meet nisab?

RM 35,000 (lowest balance) ≥ RM 33,996 (2026 MAIWP nisab) → Yes.

Step 2 — what is the zakat base?

The lowest balance during the haul = RM 35,000.

Step 3 — calculate zakat

Zakat = RM 35,000 × 2.5% = RM 875

Pay RM 875 to PPZ-MAIWP (or your state's zakat collector). The remaining RM 15,000 that came in after the haul started is not zakat-able this year — it will count toward next year's haul.

You can model your own savings, haul start date, and state-specific nisab through the Celik Finance zakat calculator — it handles per-state nisab, multiple wealth types (savings, gold, silver, business, EPF, income, agriculture), and the haul math automatically.

Where to find your state's nisab

JAWHAR maintains a national overview of all state nisab figures and rate statistics⁴.

A practical note for 2026: if your state's official portal doesn't publish a current 2026 nisab and the year is already underway, the safest default is MAIWP's RM 33,996. Mufti Wilayah's position permits following any recognised zakat institution's determination⁶ — and MAIWP's prior-year-average methodology is the most consistently published.

To compute your own zakat liability across all seven wealth types Malaysian zakat institutions recognise — savings, income, gold, silver, business, EPF/KWSP, agriculture — use the Celik Finance zakat calculator.