Maldives Hidden Costs 2026: Green Tax, 17% TGST and What's Included

A Maldives resort rate with "++" after it is not the price you'll pay. Add a 10% service charge, then 17% TGST on top of that, then green tax of USD 12 per person per night, and a USD 300 villa for two lands at about USD 410 a night, before you've paid for the boat that gets you there. That gap, close to 37% on the room alone, is where most Maldives hidden costs sit, and it's the first thing I check on any quote. Rupee figures below use about Rs 95.7 to the US dollar (a mid-market rate for late September 2026) and are approximate as of September 2026. Your card or forex provider will charge a little more than that.

What "++" actually means on a Maldives quote

The two plus signs stand for two separate charges. The first is a 10% service charge, which resorts add to the room, the meals and most extras. The second is Tourism GST, or TGST, which the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) raised from 16% to 17% on 1 July 2025.

The part people miss is the order. On resort bills the 17% is worked out on the rate plus the service charge, not on the rate alone. So USD 100 becomes USD 110, and then USD 128.70. That's 28.7%, not 27%.

MIRA's fact sheet on the 2025 rate change says tourism prices should be shown inclusive of TGST, but MIRA's GST FAQ lets a business that charges a service charge show prices without tax, provided customers can work out the total. That is why resort offer pages still say rates are "subject to 10% service charge, 17% T-GST and green tax", so read your agent's quote for the same wording. My rule is simple: treat any Maldives price as "++" unless it says nett, or names service charge, TGST and green tax as included.

Maldives green tax in 2026: who pays and how much

Green tax is a flat charge per guest per night, fixed by law rather than by the resort, and it doubled on 1 January 2025. These are the current MIRA rates:

Children under two are exempt. Everyone else pays the full rate, including your five-year-old.

For a family of four with kids aged five and nine, five nights at a resort means USD 240 in green tax, about Rs 22,970, before a single meal. Some resorts collect it at check-in rather than in the booking. Adaaran's direct-booking terms say exactly that, so a quote that looks complete can still leave this line for the front desk.

A worked example: USD 300 ++ turned into rupees

Take a common shape: a couple, four nights in a beach villa at USD 300 a night "++" with the meal plan included, at a resort reached by shared speedboat. For the transfer I've used Adaaran Select Hudhuran Fushi's published shared speedboat fare of USD 175 per adult.

The quote that read like Rs 1.15 lakh is really about Rs 1.9 lakh for the stay and transfer. Service charge, TGST and green tax alone come to about Rs 42,100, which is roughly 37% on top of the room.

Two things can push it higher still. Adaaran's terms don't say whether that USD 175 is per way or return, though they mark a few of the group's other fares as one way, so a return trip could double that row. If the transfer is also "++", it grows by about USD 100, or Rs 9,600. And flights are separate, with their own Maldives departure charges, covered below.

Transfers: the line that is never optional

You can't take a taxi to a resort island, so the transfer is compulsory, and it's often priced separately from the room. One resort group's published fares for stays up to 31 October 2026 show the spread:

• Shared speedboat to Adaaran Select Hudhuran Fushi: USD 175 per adult aged 12 and over (about Rs 16,750), USD 88 per child aged 2 to 11. A private boat is USD 500 one way (about Rs 47,850).
• Shared seaplane to Adaaran Select Meedhupparu: USD 550 per adult (about Rs 52,600) and USD 275 per child, rising to USD 575 per adult for stays from November 2026.
• Shared domestic flight plus speedboat to Meedhupparu: USD 475 per adult (about Rs 45,450).

At USD 550 a head, a couple's seaplane seats come to about Rs 1,05,270, and that's only if the fare is return, because Adaaran's terms mark some of these fares as one way. Even then it is more than three nights of a USD 300 base rate. That's why I'd point most first-time couples on a budget to a speedboat resort near Male.

"Free transfer" offers need slow reading. Siyam World's current offer gives a free shared return seaplane to one person on a four-night stay, and to two people only from seven nights, and it doesn't apply to stays from 23 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. Meedhupparu's free domestic flight and speedboat needs seven nights between April and October and fourteen between November and March. A couple on four nights at Siyam World still pays for one seaplane seat.

Before you pay, ask three transfer questions: is it return, is it "++", and when is the last transfer of the day? If your flight lands after it, you pay for a night near the airport that nobody quoted.

The departure tax you've already paid

Foreign passengers flying out of Velana International Airport pay a departure tax and an Airport Development Fee. Both went up on 1 December 2024. In economy each is USD 50, so USD 100 per person, about Rs 9,570. In business class each is USD 120. Airlines collect both on scheduled flights, which means they're already in the taxes on your ticket.

If a flight-inclusive package lists "Maldives departure tax" as an extra on top, ask why. It should only appear as a breakdown of a fare you're paying anyway, never as a second charge.

What a Maldives package includes, and what it leaves out

A typical Maldives package from India covers the villa, a meal plan, the resort transfer and, in a good quote, all the taxes above. Flights may or may not be in. The name of the meal plan decides most of your extras bill, so read the actual inclusions, not the label.

Even all-inclusive has edges. Siyam World's WOW plan is generous, but it still covers one meal per person per meal period (one starter, one main, one dessert), charges extra for its Gaadiyaa food cart, and refills the minibar once a day. Centara Ras Fushi's all-inclusive also restocks the minibar once a day and charges for anything beyond that (more in the Centara Ras Fushi review). Babysitting at Siyam World is USD 25 an hour, plus service charge and GST. On half board you pay extra for lunch, and on bed and breakfast for dinner too. Most drinks and the minibar are billed in dollars either way, with the same 28.7% on top.

Unless a quote names them, I'd assume these are extra: excursions such as snorkel trips, sandbank picnics and dolphin cruises, spa treatments beyond any credit, specialty restaurants on a buffet plan, and private transfers. If your dates fall between Christmas and early January, ask whether a compulsory festive gala dinner is charged per guest and whether it's already inside your price.

The October 2026 TGST change for packages sold from India

From 1 October 2026, overseas sellers of Maldives holidays come under Maldives GST. MIRA's guide, published on 11 September 2026, names foreign tour operators, travel agents, online travel agencies, bed banks and booking platforms, and says they must register with no minimum threshold. That covers an Indian agent selling you a resort stay.

What's taxed is the seller's margin, not your whole holiday. MIRA's formula takes what you paid for the Maldives part, subtracts what the seller paid a GST-registered Maldivian supplier such as the resort, and treats the difference as including 17% TGST. International flights and anything outside the Maldives are left out. So if an agent sells you the land part for Rs 2,00,000 and pays the resort Rs 1,70,000, the TGST inside that Rs 30,000 margin is about Rs 4,360. The resort's own 17% on your room doesn't change.

Three practical points. Some agents may absorb this and some may pass it on. On a margin like the one above that's a few thousand rupees, not a 17% jump. If a quote suddenly adds 17% on the entire package and calls it the new Maldives tax, that isn't how MIRA's guide works, so ask for the calculation. And timing matters: the rule follows when the invoice is issued or payment is received, whichever comes first, not your travel dates. MIRA's own example of a stay paid in full in May 2026 for October 2026 falls outside it.

The Maldives hidden costs checklist: questions to ask before you pay

• Is the total nett, with 10% service charge, 17% TGST and green tax included for every guest aged two and over, and is green tax prepaid or collected at check-in?
• Is the transfer shared or private, return or one way, nett or "++", and when does the last one leave?
• What exactly does the meal plan leave out: minibar refills, specialty dinners, premium drinks?
• On festive dates, is there a compulsory gala dinner, and is it inside the price?
• What proof do honeymoon perks need? Siyam World asks for a marriage certificate dated within 12 months; Adaaran's terms ask for travel within six months of the wedding.
• Is the resort booking prepaid and confirmed in writing? Maldives Immigration lists it among entry requirements.
• What happens if weather cuts the trip short? Adaaran's direct-booking terms say early departures or cancellations due to bad weather are fully chargeable, which is a good reason to buy travel insurance.
• If you're invoiced after 1 October 2026, how is the new Maldives TGST on the agent's margin shown?

My take on comparing two quotes

I'd take a slightly higher nett quote over a cheaper "++" one every time, because nett is the only way to compare two agents fairly. Line them up in the same format as the table above and the real gap often shrinks, or flips.

Families with children over two should be most careful. Green tax, child transfer fares and child meal supplements all scale per head, so a speedboat resort close to Male often beats a seaplane resort on the total even when its room rate looks higher. The couple chasing the lowest possible total should skip seaplane resorts altogether; the couple who wants the seaplane arrival should budget for it as its own line, not hope a "free transfer" covers two people.

For full budget ranges by trip style, plus flights from Indian metros, read the cost breakdown next.

Read nextMaldives Trip Cost from India: A Real Budget BreakdownThree honest Maldives budgets in rupees for Indian travellers: flights, transfers, stay, food, visa and the taxes most quotes leave out.6 min read →

If you're still choosing between a speedboat island and a seaplane atoll, the area guide lays out the trade-offs.

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