A plain-language look at the traditional units and salary tax rules used across Afghanistan.
Weight units are built from the nakhud, the smallest unit, with each larger unit a fixed multiple of the one before it:
Ser has three regional versions: Ser Herat, Ser Kabul and Ser Mazar. Ser Kabul is the version used in the converter elsewhere on this site. Khurd is 110 grams on paper, but is often counted as 100 grams in everyday bazaar trade.
| Unit | Value | Practical value |
|---|---|---|
| Nakhud (نخود) | 0.19 g | — |
| Misqal (مثقال) | 4.4 g | — |
| Toli (تولی) | 18.4 g | — |
| Khurd (خرد) | 110.4 g | 100 g |
| Paw (پاو) | 441.6 g | — |
| Chaarak (چارک) | 1.77 kg | — |
| Ser Herat (سیر هرات) | 100 g | — |
| Ser Kabul (سیر کابل) | 7.07 kg | — |
| Ser Mazar (سیر مزار) | 14 kg | — |
| Man (من) | 4.5 kg | — |
| Kharwaar (خروار) | 565.25 kg | — |
Land is measured in biswaasa, biswa and jirib. A jirib in Afghanistan equals 2,000 square meters. This is different from Iran and Turkey, where a jirib (or jarib) equals a full hectare, 10,000 square meters.
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Biswaasa (بسواسه) | 5 m² |
| Biswa (بسوه) | 100 m² |
| Jirib (جریب) | 2,000 m² |
Several yard-length units, all called gaz, are used for different purposes: general use, construction and land measurement.
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Gaz-i-shah (گز شاه) | 1.07 m |
| Girah-i gaz-i-shah (گره گز شاه) | 0.07 m |
| Gaz-i-mimar (گز معمار) | 0.84 m |
| Gaz-i-jirib (گز جریب) | 0.74 m |
| Goes (گوز) | 1.16 m |
Salary tax is withheld monthly from an employee's pay, in increasing brackets. Only the amount of income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket's rate.
| Income over (AFN) | Income up to (AFN) | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5,000 | 0% |
| 5,000 | 12,500 | 0 + 2% |
| 12,500 | 100,000 | 150 + 10% |
| 100,000 | — | 8,900 + 20% |
Other Afghan taxes include corporate tax, a flat 20% on company profit, and Business Receipts Tax, withheld on gross receipts rather than profit, at 4% for most services and 5% for larger restaurants, hotels and event halls. Value-added tax is 10%, though it does not yet apply evenly across all goods and services.
Afghanistan officially adopted the metric system in 1924. Traditional units are still commonly used today in bazaars, villages and land dealings alongside it. In Dari, unit names do not change for plurals, for example "do khurd" rather than "do khurdha".