Property zakat rate reduced to MVR 19,266.10 after market recalculation

The rate of property zakat was reduced on Thursday, following a recalculation by the Maldives Zakat House based on updated silver market prices.

Four months ago, on April 21, the rate of property zakat was increased from MVR 19,527.90 to MVR 21,836.50, the highest nisab ever recorded. With Thursday’s revision, the new nisab has now been set at MVR 19,266.10, marking a significant drop of MVR 2,570.40 from the April threshold.

The Zakat House said the updated rate is effective from Thursday onwards. Under the Maldives Zakat Act, the nisab for Zakat al-Mal is calculated based on the market price of silver. Today’s recalculation used the latest commodity prices, including MVR 2,179.62 per gram for gold and MVR 38.32 per gram for silver. Since the nisab corresponds to the value of 595 grams of silver, fluctuations in silver prices directly affect the threshold.

As property zakat is a pillar of Islam, one-fortieth of a person’s wealth, equivalent to 2.5 percent, must be paid as zakat after one full Hijri year, provided the wealth remains above the nisab.

ނިޞާބު ކަނޑައެޅުން: 20 އޮގަސްޓު 2026 (07 رَبِيْعُ الْأَوَّلُ 1448)https://t.co/pMo0lIOiuT#zakat #zakathousemv #maldiveszakathouse pic.twitter.com/j20qKX6N1D

— Maldives Zakat House (@ZakatHouseMv) August 20, 2026

Last year, the property zakat rate was revised twice. The final adjustment was made on December 21, when it was increased to MVR 19,527.90, four months after being set at MVR 11,191.95.

According to statistics released by the Zakat House, the highest amount of property zakat collected since its introduction was recorded last year. Figures show that from 2021 to 2025, annual zakat collections exceeded MVR 90 million, with last year’s total reaching MVR 107.21 million.