In short
The acquisition tax is 2.23% of the value in Mexicali (Baja California) at MX$3 million. Appraisal values in Mexicali changed by +9.6% over a year (SHF index, second quarter of 2026). The average fixed-rate mortgage offer was 11.29% in September 2026 (Banco de México).
Mexicali reads its purchase tax from a marginal table, and the result starts light and gets heavier with the price. A home priced at MX$1 million pays MX$16,000, one at MX$3 million pays MX$67,000, and one at MX$8 million pays MX$284,500, which means effective rates of 1.6%, 2.23% and 3.56%. The tax is assessed on whichever of the updated price, cadastral value and commercial appraisal is largest, and no surcharge is added. In UMA terms the MX$3 million bill comes to 571 daily units at MX$117.31 each.
Placed among the 54 computed areas, Mexicali is 25th from the lightest. Mexico's median at that price is MX$75,000; 29 areas charge more than Mexicali and 24 charge less. Aguascalientes, at MX$66,862, is the next one down and Tijuana, at MX$69,080, the next one up. Inside Baja California the other computed municipios, Ensenada and Playas de Rosarito, both come to MX$76,500. Once the state registry charge of MX$12,794 is added, the total on MX$3 million is MX$79,794, or 2.66%. That registry charge is the same at MX$1 million and MX$8 million.
Of the four computed municipios in Baja California, Mexicali is the lightest at MX$3 million: Tijuana pays MX$69,080 and Ensenada and Playas de Rosarito pay MX$76,500 each. Its own rate also rises with the price, starting at 1.6% for MX$1 million and ending at 3.56% for MX$8 million, so the table weighs more as the price climbs. The law read is the municipal revenue law for 2026, in its compiled text of 15 May 2026. The state had 3,769,020 inhabitants at the 2020 count.
The city publishes a price index of its own: 9.6% across the latest year, 4th among 36 cities that have one. Tijuana reads 8.6%. For the state as a whole the index moved 8.9%, 7th of 32, while the national figure is 7.3%.
On the market side, the median appraisal of mortgaged homes in the January-June 2026 window is MX$1,587,201, the 5th highest among states and above the national MX$1,299,580. The lower quartile is MX$1,221,836, the upper quartile MX$2,614,000, and the mean MX$2,320,797.
Lending in 2025 covered 19,364 loans to individuals, averaging MX$1,117,012, a population-based rate of 5.1 beside 3.8 for the median state. Rented homes are 22.6% of the stock, ranking 4th, with the median state at 14.4%. Agents are not regulated at state level.
Data as of 15 October 2026: SHF appraisals of January to June 2026, SNIIV loans of 2025, INEGI ENIGH 2024, 2026 tax laws.
Calculate for Mexicali
The questions, answered
How much tax and recording fee on a MX$3 million home in Mexicali?
On a MX$3 million home in Mexicali (Baja California), taxed on the highest of the updated price, the cadastral value and a commercial appraisal, the buyer pays property acquisition tax (ISAI) MX$67,000, recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad MX$12,794: MX$79,794 in all under the 2026 laws read by Payotte, before notary fees.
How much tax and recording fee on a MX$8 million home in Mexicali?
On a MX$8 million home in Mexicali (Baja California): property acquisition tax (ISAI) MX$284,500, recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad MX$12,794, MX$297,294 in all, before notary fees.
Are home prices rising in Mexicali?
The SHF price index for Mexicali (Baja California) changed by +9.6% between the second quarters of 2025 and 2026, against +7.3% for Mexico; it measures appraisal values of homes bought with a mortgage (Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal).
What monthly payment on a MX$3 million home in Mexicali?
MX$2,400,000 borrowed (20% down) costs MX$25,248 a month over 20 years at 11.29% (Banco de México, September 2026); average CAT 13.76%.
How much tax when you sell a home in Mexicali?
Federal rules apply in Mexicali as in every state: a seller who is not a Mexican tax resident pays by default 25% of the gross price (LISR art. 160), MX$750,000 on a MX$3 million sale, paid by the notary; a resident selling their own home is exempt up to 700,000 UDIS, about MX$6,218,823 at 4 November 2026 (art. 93-XIX-a).
How Mexicali compares
Mexicali charges MX$67,000 of acquisition tax (2.23%) on a MX$3 million home, 10.7% under the MX$75,000 median of the 54 municipios computed; 24 charge less and 29 more.
The tax follows a marginal table (limits in pesos): MX$16,000 on MX$1 million, MX$67,000 on MX$3 million and MX$284,500 on MX$8 million. The effective rate climbs from 1.6% to 3.56% between the first and the last price.
Inside Baja California, the nearest computed neighbours on a MX$3 million home are Tijuana MX$69,080 (MX$2,080 more), Ensenada MX$76,500 (MX$9,500 more) and Playas de Rosarito MX$76,500 (MX$9,500 more). The MX$12,794 recording fee comes from the state's own law, so it is identical in each of them and the gap is the municipal tax alone.
Tax and recording fee together take 2.66% of a MX$3 million price, MX$79,794, which is 3.2 monthly payments of MX$25,248 and 13.3% on top of the MX$600,000 down payment. On a home at the state median appraisal of MX$1,587,201 the same rules give MX$40,974, 2.58% of the price.
Ranked from the lightest to the heaviest of the 54 areas, Mexicali is 25th: just below it in the national ranking is Aguascalientes (Aguascalientes) at MX$66,862 and just above it is Tijuana at MX$69,080. The lightest, Guanajuato, takes MX$24,144 on the same MX$3 million, so a buyer in Mexicali pays MX$42,856 more; the heaviest, Querétaro, takes MX$170,306, MX$103,306 more than Mexicali.
Beyond the three prices of this page, tax and fee reach MX$51,294 on MX$2 million, MX$154,294 on MX$5 million and MX$497,294 on MX$12 million. Between MX$3 million and MX$8 million, each extra peso of price carries 4.35 centavos of acquisition tax, more than the 2.23% average at MX$3 million. In the daily unit of account (UMA, MX$117 in 2026) the MX$3 million tax is 571 UMA and the recording fee 109.
The SHF index of Mexicali itself moved +9.6% in a year, ahead of Baja California (+8.9%) and above Mexico (+7.3%): 4th of the 36 cities with an index of their own.
| Measure | Value | Reference | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexicali: Acquisition tax on MX$1 million | MX$16,000 | median MX$21,588 | 7th of 54 lightest |
| Mexicali: Acquisition tax on MX$3 million | MX$67,000 | median MX$75,000 | 25th of 54 lightest |
| Mexicali: Acquisition tax on MX$8 million | MX$284,500 | median MX$232,239 | 41st of 54 lightest |
| Mexicali: Effective rate at MX$3 million | 2.23% | median 2.5% | 25th of 54 lightest |
| Mexicali: Effective rate at MX$1 and 8 million | 1.6% and 3.56% | gap 1.96 points | rising |
| Mexicali: Tax on MX$3 million in UMA | 571 UMA | MX$117 per UMA | 18.8 monthly UMA |
| Mexicali: Recording fee on MX$3 million | MX$12,794 | 0.43% of the price | 19.1% of the tax |
| Mexicali: Tax and fee on MX$3 million | MX$79,794 | 2.66% of the price | 21st of 54 lightest |
| Mexicali: Tax and fee on MX$12 million | MX$497,294 | 4.14% of the price | 6.2 times the MX$3 million bill |
| SHF index, Mexicali | +9.6% | Mexico +7.3% | 4th of 36 |
Appraisal values, home loans and renting for the whole of Baja California are on its state page.
The figures
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Property acquisition tax (ISAI) on MX$3 million | MX$67,000 | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Mexicali 2026, art. 10 (compiled text of 15 May 2026) |
| Recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad on MX$3 million | MX$12,794 | Ley de Ingresos del Estado de Baja California 2026, art. 12-I and III (last reform P.O. 35, 18 June 2026) |
| SHF price index, Mexicali, change over a year | +9.6% | SHF, Q2 2026 |
| Average fixed-rate mortgage offer (Sep. 2026) | 11.29% | Banco de México, CF303 |
The SHF publishes home prices in pesos by state only; for a municipality it publishes an index, not a price. The appraisal values, loans and renting of Baja California are on its state page.
Elsewhere in Baja California
Sources
- Acquisition tax: Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Mexicali 2026, art. 10 (compiled text of 15 May 2026); the calculator.
- Recording fee: Ley de Ingresos del Estado de Baja California 2026, art. 12-I and III (last reform P.O. 35, 18 June 2026).
- Prices: Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal, Índice SHF de Precios de la Vivienda en México, second quarter of 2026 (press release 05/2026, 10 August 2026), consulted 2026-10-15 (data).
- Loans: SEDATU, Sistema Nacional de Información e Indicadores de Vivienda (SNIIV), open data « Financiamientos » 2025; Banco de México, SIE, Tasas de Interés de Crédito a los Hogares (CF303), Indicador del Costo de Créditos Hipotecarios, September 2026.