In short
The acquisition tax is 2.5% of the value in San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas) at MX$3 million. Appraisal values in Chiapas changed by +7% over a year (SHF index, second quarter of 2026). The average fixed-rate mortgage offer was 11.29% in September 2026 (Banco de México).
San Cristóbal de las Casas keeps its transfer tax simple. The ISTD is a flat 2.5% levied on whichever is highest: the price, the property-tax base, or an appraisal by the state cadastre or an authorised appraiser. A minimum of 6 UMA applies. Priced at MX$3 million, a purchase owes MX$75,000; at MX$1 million the bill is MX$25,000, and MX$8 million brings MX$200,000. The effective rate stays at 2.5% throughout.
Among the 54 computed municipalities it ranks 28th lightest, with 26 charging less and 25 charging more. Its MX$75,000 equals the national median, and so do the amounts for its neighbours in the ranking, Veracruz and Torreón. The Chiapas registry adds MX$1,800 whatever the price, leaving a combined MX$76,800, or 2.56% of the MX$3 million.
Around it, Chiapas values mortgaged homes at a median of MX$1,177,463, 23rd of 32, below Mexico's MX$1,299,580. The latest SHF index reading shows 7%, ranking 20 of 32 and short of Mexico's 7.3%. Lending is light, at 0.7 loans per 1,000 people where the median state has 3.8, and 11.1% of homes are rented. Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the other Chiapas place on Payotte, but its tax is not computed.
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 San Cristóbal de las Casas
The questions, answered
How much tax and recording fee on a MX$3 million home in San Cristóbal de las Casas?
On a MX$3 million home in San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas), taxed on the highest of the price, the property-tax base and an appraisal by the state cadastre or an authorised appraiser, the buyer pays property transfer tax (ISTD) MX$75,000, recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad MX$1,800: MX$76,800 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 San Cristóbal de las Casas?
On a MX$8 million home in San Cristóbal de las Casas (Chiapas): property transfer tax (ISTD) MX$200,000, recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad MX$1,800, MX$201,800 in all, before notary fees.
What monthly payment on a MX$3 million home in San Cristóbal de las Casas?
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 San Cristóbal de las Casas?
Federal rules apply in San Cristóbal de las Casas 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 San Cristóbal de las Casas compares
At MX$75,000 on a MX$3 million home (2.5% of the price), San Cristóbal de las Casas sits near the middle of the 54 municipios computed, whose median is MX$75,000: 26 charge less, 25 more, 2 exactly the same.
The law applies one rate, 2.5%, to the taxable base, so the tax grows in step with the price: MX$25,000 on MX$1 million, MX$75,000 on MX$3 million and MX$200,000 on MX$8 million. In San Cristóbal de las Casas, a floor of 6 UMA, MX$704, applies whatever the price.
San Cristóbal de las Casas is the only municipio of Chiapas whose acquisition tax Payotte computes. The recording fee, MX$1,800 on MX$3 million, is set by the state and comes on top.
Tax and recording fee together take 2.56% of a MX$3 million price, MX$76,800, which is 3 monthly payments of MX$25,248 and 12.8% on top of the MX$600,000 down payment. On a home at the state median appraisal of MX$1,177,463 the same rules give MX$31,237, 2.65% of the price.
Ranked from the lightest to the heaviest of the 54 areas, San Cristóbal de las Casas is 28th: just below it in the national ranking is Veracruz (Veracruz) at MX$75,000 and just above it is Torreón (Coahuila) at MX$75,000. The lightest, Guanajuato, takes MX$24,144 on the same MX$3 million, so a buyer in San Cristóbal de las Casas pays MX$50,856 more; the heaviest, Querétaro, takes MX$170,306, MX$95,306 more than San Cristóbal de las Casas.
Beyond the three prices of this page, tax and fee reach MX$51,800 on MX$2 million, MX$126,800 on MX$5 million and MX$301,800 on MX$12 million. Between MX$3 million and MX$8 million, each extra peso of price carries 2.5 centavos of acquisition tax, the same as the average rate. In the daily unit of account (UMA, MX$117 in 2026) the MX$3 million tax is 639 UMA and the recording fee 15.
| Measure | Value | Reference | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Acquisition tax on MX$1 million | MX$25,000 | median MX$21,588 | 32nd of 54 lightest |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Acquisition tax on MX$3 million | MX$75,000 | median MX$75,000 | 27th of 54 lightest |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Acquisition tax on MX$8 million | MX$200,000 | median MX$232,239 | 23rd of 54 lightest |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Effective rate at MX$3 million | 2.5% | median 2.5% | 27th of 54 lightest |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Effective rate at MX$1 and 8 million | 2.5% and 2.5% | gap 0 points | flat |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Tax on MX$3 million in UMA | 639 UMA | MX$117 per UMA | 21 monthly UMA |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Recording fee on MX$3 million | MX$1,800 | 0.06% of the price | 2.4% of the tax |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Tax and fee on MX$3 million | MX$76,800 | 2.56% of the price | 19th of 54 lightest |
| San Cristóbal de las Casas: Tax and fee on MX$12 million | MX$301,800 | 2.51% of the price | 3.9 times the MX$3 million bill |
Appraisal values, home loans and renting for the whole of Chiapas are on its state page.
The figures
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Property transfer tax (ISTD) on MX$3 million | MX$75,000 | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2026, art. 8 (P.O. 081, 31 Dec. 2025) |
| Recording fee, Registro Público de la Propiedad on MX$3 million | MX$1,800 | Ley de Derechos del Estado de Chiapas, art. 47 Ter-I-a (last reform P.O. 123, 19 Aug. 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 Chiapas are on its state page.
Elsewhere in Chiapas
Sources
- Acquisition tax: Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, 2026, art. 8 (P.O. 081, 31 Dec. 2025); the calculator.
- Recording fee: Ley de Derechos del Estado de Chiapas, art. 47 Ter-I-a (last reform P.O. 123, 19 Aug. 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.