Tax and record-keeping for affiliates in the Maldives
What MIRA expects, when registration becomes necessary, and the records worth keeping from day one. Not advice — a starting point for a conversation with an accountant.
This is general information, not tax advice. Thresholds and rules change, and your situation may differ. Speak to a qualified accountant or MIRA directly before acting on any of it.
Who collects
The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) administers tax here. Its website publishes current rates and forms, and its office in Malé answers questions from individuals.
Income tax
The Maldives introduced personal income tax in 2020. It is banded, with a tax-free threshold below which nothing is due, and rates rising in steps above it.
Affiliate commission is income. Whether it becomes taxable depends on your total income against the current threshold — check the present figure with MIRA rather than relying on any number written here, including in this article.
Business registration
If affiliate income becomes a substantial and continuing activity rather than occasional side earnings, registering as a sole trader or company may be appropriate — and in some cases required.
Registration brings obligations (filing, possibly GST if you cross that threshold) and advantages (deductible expenses, a clean paper trail, the ability to invoice).
This is the specific point at which an hour with an accountant pays for itself many times over.
Records worth keeping from day one
Whether or not you are currently taxable, keep:
- Monthly commission statements — download them; do not rely on the dashboard being there in two years
- Bank records showing what arrived and when
- Expenses — data, hosting, advertising, equipment, anything spent to earn
- A simple ledger — date, amount, source. A spreadsheet is enough
If you are ever asked to explain where money came from — by MIRA, by a bank, by a lender — this file is the answer. Assembling it retrospectively is painful; maintaining it takes five minutes a month.
Foreign nationals
If you are on a work permit, check your employment contract before running any outside income. Some contracts, particularly resort contracts, restrict it. The permit is tied to the sponsoring employer, and breaching those terms puts your residency at risk — a far bigger problem than the tax question.
Receiving payment
Commission paid to a Maldivian bank account is traceable and documented, which is what you want. Payments routed through informal channels are harder to explain later and can complicate everything from a loan application to a visa renewal.
The short version
- Keep records from the first payment
- Check the current threshold with MIRA, not with an article
- Talk to an accountant when this becomes regular income
- Read your employment contract if you are on a permit