Green Tax (Maldives) — Automated Calculation & MIRA Filing

How Qvian calculates Maldives Green Tax at checkout: per-BU rate tiers, the 12-hour day rule, Maldivian / under-2 / resident-permit exemptions, the 2301 Green Tax Payable ledger, and the monthly MIRA Information Sheet export.

Green Tax is the Maldives environmental levy charged per tourist, per day. Qvian calculates it automatically when a guest checks out: it applies your property's rate tier ($12 for resorts, $6 for guesthouses), counts chargeable days with the 12-hour rule, applies exemptions for Maldivians, under-2s and resident-permit holders, and posts the liability to account 2301 Green Tax Payable. Each month you export a MIRA Information Sheet and record the payment.

Last updated

What Green Tax is and who pays it

Green Tax is a per-person, per-day environmental levy that accommodation providers in the Maldives collect from guests and remit to MIRA (Maldives Inland Revenue Authority). It is filed monthly and is due by the 28th of the following month. It must be reported in USD.

The rate depends on your property tier:

TierRateApplies to
Resort / HotelUSD 12 per person per dayResorts, integrated resorts, resort hotels, hotels with more than 50 rooms, and tourist vessels
GuesthouseUSD 6 per person per dayHotels and guesthouses with 50 rooms or fewer on inhabited islands

Green Tax is dormant for business units outside the Maldives. If the business unit's country is not Maldives, nothing is calculated and the Green Tax page shows Green Tax Not Applicable.

How chargeable days are counted (the 12-hour rule)

Green Tax is charged per 24-hour block of stay. The final partial block is charged only if the guest stayed 12 hours or more in it. Qvian uses the actual check-in and check-out timestamps, not the calendar dates.

  • Check-in Monday 14:00, check-out Wednesday 12:00 — 46 hours — one full block plus a 22-hour remainder — 2 chargeable days
  • Check-in Monday 14:00, check-out Tuesday 08:00 — 18 hours — no full block, 18-hour remainder — 1 chargeable day
  • Check-in Monday 14:00, check-out Monday 20:00 — 6 hours — 0 chargeable days, no charge

Who is exempt

Exempt guests still appear on the Green Tax page and in the MIRA Information Sheet — MIRA requires them to be declared — but they carry a zero amount and are counted under Exempt guests.

  • Maldivians — the guest's nationality is recorded as MV, Maldivian or Maldives. Exemption reason: MALDIVIAN
  • Children under 2 — age at the check-in date is under two years, calculated from the guest's date of birth. Exemption reason: UNDER_2
  • Resident permit holders — the guest is flagged as holding a Maldives resident permit. Exemption reason: RESIDENT_PERMIT

Exemptions depend on guest data

Nationality and date of birth come from the guest record. If a guest's nationality or date of birth is missing at checkout, they will be charged rather than exempted. Capture these during check-in or through the Guest Portal so exemptions apply automatically.

Common Tasks

How to Set Your Green Tax Rate Tier (Green Tax configuration, resort or guesthouse rate)

Set whether the property is charged at the resort rate or the guesthouse rate. Do this before your first checkout — the tier is read at the moment Green Tax is calculated.

Required permission: Business unit settings (owner or administrator)

  1. Go to Settings → Business Units in the left sidebar
  2. Open the accommodation business unit
  3. Open the Financial tab and find the Green Tax card
  4. Turn on Enabled
  5. Choose the tier: Resort / Hotel (USD 12) or Guesthouse (USD 6)
  6. Enter Registered rooms — the room count you are registered with for the tier
  7. Click Save

Result: The configuration is saved and used for every subsequent checkout in this business unit. A confirmation reads Green Tax configuration saved.

Note: Changing the tier does not re-price Green Tax already calculated for past checkouts. To restate an earlier period, use Recalculate on the Green Tax page.

How to View Green Tax for a Month (Green Tax report, Green Tax period)

Review everything collected in a tax period before you file.

  1. Go to Accounting → Green Tax in the left sidebar
  2. Pick the Tax month you want to review, or choose Custom to set your own date range
  3. Read the summary counters: Chargeable guests, Exempt guests and Chargeable days
  4. Review the guest table — Guest, Nationality, ID No., Check-in, Check-out, Days, Period and Amount (USD)
  5. Use the search box to find a specific record by guest name, passport number or nationality

Result: You see every Green Tax entry for the period, with exempt guests shown at zero. The period total is what you owe MIRA for that month.

Note: Guests still in-house are marked in-house and are not yet charged — Green Tax is calculated at checkout, so an open stay carries no entry until the guest departs.

How to Export the MIRA Information Sheet (MIRA filing, Green Tax return, MIRAconnect export)

Produce the guest-level file MIRA requires for the monthly filing.

Before you start: The month is complete and every departing guest has been checked out, so their entries exist.

  1. Go to Accounting → Green Tax
  2. Select the Tax month you are filing for
  3. Confirm the counters and totals look right
  4. Click MIRA Green Tax Information Sheet
  5. Save the downloaded file and submit it to MIRA through MIRAconnect

Result: A guest-level information sheet downloads, covering every guest who checked out in the period — chargeable and exempt — with the fields MIRA expects, in USD.

Note: File by the 28th of the following month. Exempt guests must stay in the sheet; do not remove them.

How to Record the Green Tax Payment to MIRA (pay Green Tax, remit Green Tax, settle Green Tax Payable)

After you pay MIRA, record the payment so the Green Tax Payable liability clears.

  1. Go to Accounting → Green Tax
  2. Select the period you paid for
  3. Click Record Green Tax payment to MIRA
  4. Set the Payment date
  5. Choose the Paid from account — the bank account the payment left
  6. Enter a Reference such as the MIRA receipt or transaction number
  7. Save the payment

Result: A journal entry debits 2301 Green Tax Payable and credits the bank account you selected, clearing the liability for that period.

How to Recalculate Green Tax for a Period (fix Green Tax, restate Green Tax, wrong Green Tax amount)

Use this after correcting guest nationality, date of birth or resident-permit status, or after changing the rate tier.

Required permission: Accounting (manager or administrator)

  1. Correct the underlying guest records first — nationality, date of birth or resident-permit flag
  2. Go to Accounting → Green Tax
  3. Select the affected Tax month
  4. Click Recalculate
  5. Re-check the Chargeable guests, Exempt guests and Chargeable days counters

Result: Entries for the period are recalculated from the current guest data and the current rate tier, and the ledger is restated to match.

Note: Recalculate after you have already filed only if you intend to submit a correction to MIRA. Re-export the Information Sheet so your records and your filing agree.

How Green Tax reaches your accounts

Green Tax is money you hold on MIRA's behalf, so it is a liability, never revenue. At checkout Qvian posts:

  • Debit 2410 Customer Deposits — the guest has already funded the charge
  • Credit 2301 Green Tax Payable — what you now owe MIRA

Green Tax appears as its own section in the reservation billing breakdown, separate from room and service charges, and is included in the reservation grand total. When you record the payment to MIRA, account 2301 is debited and your bank account is credited, returning the balance to zero for that period.

Reconciling the liability

The balance on account 2301 Green Tax Payable should equal the total of all calculated-but-unpaid Green Tax. If it does not, the usual cause is a period that was exported and paid but never recorded in Qvian.

Troubleshooting

The Green Tax page says "Green Tax Not Applicable"

Cause: The business unit is not set to the Maldives, or Green Tax is not enabled on it.

Fix: Go to Settings → Business Units, open the business unit, and check that its country is Maldives. Then open the Financial tab and turn on Enabled in the Green Tax card.

A guest was charged Green Tax but should be exempt

Cause: Exemptions are decided from the guest record at the moment of checkout. If nationality, date of birth or the resident-permit flag was missing or wrong then, the guest was treated as chargeable.

Fix: Correct the guest record, then open Accounting → Green Tax, select the period and click Recalculate. If you have already filed for that period, re-export the MIRA Green Tax Information Sheet and submit a correction.

A guest who stayed with us is missing from the period

Cause: Green Tax is calculated at checkout. A guest who has not been checked out has no entry yet.

Fix: Check the reservation in Hotel Front Desk and complete the check-out. The entry is created at that point and appears in the month the checkout falls in. Guests still in-house show as in-house.

The amount is lower than I expected for a long stay

Cause: The final partial day is only charged when the guest stayed 12 hours or more in that block.

Fix: Check the actual check-in and check-out times on the reservation. A departure less than 12 hours into the final block is correctly not charged for that day.

Which month does a stay that crosses month-end belong to?

Cause: The tax period is taken from the checkout date, not the check-in date.

Fix: A guest who checks in on 28 August and out on 3 September is filed in the September period. Look for them in the month they departed.

Account 2301 Green Tax Payable does not exist

Cause: Account 2301 is created with hotel business units. A business unit created before Green Tax was added may not have it.

Fix: Open Accounting → Chart of Accounts and confirm 2301 Green Tax Payable is present. If it is missing, add it as a liability account with code 2301 before your next checkout.