Determinants of zakat compliance among Muslim employees in Malaysia

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the Muslim employee's zakat compliance behaviour post COVID-19 in Malaysia that will help overcoming the low zakat collection issue. Guided by the extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB), this study examines employment income zakat, which constitutes the largest source of zakat contributions in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach The study employs purposive sampling to distribute a self-administered questionnaire to Muslim employees in Malaysia. A total of 391 usable responses were collected and subsequently analyzed using variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and past behaviour significantly influence the intention to pay zakat. Consequently, this intention drives employment income zakat compliance. Religiosity was not a significant predictor of intention to pay zakat. The results challenge common assumptions in the existing literature and offer a novel insight into zakat payment behaviour. The intention to pay zakat mediates the relationships between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, past behaviour and compliance with employment income zakat. However, it does not mediate the relationship between religiosity and compliance. Originality/value This study extends the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) by investigating the influence of religiosity on the intention to pay zakat among Muslim employees. The study provides generalizable findings, as it does not focus on a specific locality or profession, and is conducted within a voluntary zakat system governed by a decentralized zakat institution. Additionally, it explores zakat compliance behaviour in the context of the post COVID-19 landscape which offers timely insights into behavioural responses during a period of economic uncertainty.