diff --git a/src/topics/tags.js b/src/topics/tags.js
index 48ef3dba41..527913557a 100644
--- a/src/topics/tags.js
+++ b/src/topics/tags.js
@@ -327,12 +327,13 @@ module.exports = function(Topics) {
 			return plugins.fireHook('filter:topic.getRelatedTopics', {topic: topicData, uid: uid}, callback);
 		}
 
-		var maximumTopics = parseInt(meta.config.maximumRelatedTopics, 10) || 5;
-
-		if (!topicData.tags.length || maximumTopics === 0) {
+		var maximumTopics = parseInt(meta.config.maximumRelatedTopics, 10);
+		if (maximumTopics === 0 || !topicData.tags.length) {
 			return callback(null, []);
 		}
 
+		maximumTopics = maximumTopics || 5;
+
 		async.waterfall([
 			function (next) {
 				async.map(topicData.tags, function (tag, next) {