Guides

Guides to buying and renting a home in Mexico

Each guide is checked against the official sources it cites, with the date of the check.

Foreigners may own homes in Mexico, through a bank trust (fideicomiso) within 100 km of a border or 50 km of a beach; the acquisition tax, the recording fee and the civil code are set by each state or municipality, income tax and VAT federally. On a MX$3 million home, the acquisition tax comes to MX$90,000 in Cancún, MX$85,797 in Puerto Vallarta, MX$83,577 in Los Cabos, MX$82,007 in San Miguel de Allende, MX$97,000 in Mérida, before the fee to record the deed and the notary's fees. Each of the 69 guides below answers one question, with its official sources and their date.

Foreign buyers

Buying property in Mexico as a foreigner: the rules

A foreigner can own a home in Mexico, but the route depends on where the land is.

Mexico's restricted zone: 100 km and 50 km explained

The restricted zone (zona restringida) is a strip of national territory 100 km wide along the land borders and 50 km wide along the beaches.

Fideicomiso: how Mexico's bank trust for foreigners works

A fideicomiso is a trust in which a Mexican bank holds title to a property for the benefit of a named person.

Fideicomiso permit in Mexico: 2026 SRE fees and timing

In 2026 the Foreign Affairs Secretariat (SRE) charges MX$21,650 for a fideicomiso permit and MX$595 for the review of the application, MX$22,245 in all (a sum calculated here from the two published figures).

Buying outside Mexico's restricted zone: the SRE agreement

Outside the restricted zone a foreigner may own land or a home directly, without a bank trust.

Buying Mexican property through a company: what the law says

A Mexican company can own real estate, and the Foreign Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Extranjera, LIE) says what changes when its partners are foreign.

RNIE: Mexico's foreign investment registry and who files

The National Registry of Foreign Investment (Registro Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras, RNIE) is a federal registry kept by the Secretariat of Economy. It is not public (Foreign Investment Law, art. 31).

Renting out a home held in a Mexican fideicomiso

Yes: the Foreign Investment Law defines the "use and enjoyment" that a trust beneficiary may have to include the fruits, products and any return from the lucrative operation of the property, through third parties or through the bank (art. 12).

Mexico-US tax treaty: rent and gains on Mexican property

The income tax convention between the United States and Mexico, signed in Washington on 18 September 1992 and in force since 28 December 1993, lets Mexico tax rent and capital gains from Mexican real estate owned by a US resident (articles 6 and 13).

Mexico-Canada tax treaty: rent and gains on Mexican property

The convention between Canada and Mexico for the avoidance of double taxation on income, signed in Mexico City on 12 September 2006, says in article 6 that rent from Mexican immovable property may be taxed in Mexico, and in article 13 that gains from selling it may be taxed in Mexico too.

Mexico-UK tax treaty: rent and gains on Mexican property

The double taxation convention between the United Kingdom and Mexico was signed in Mexico City on 2 June 1994 and entered into force on 15 December 1994; the consolidated text published by HMRC on GOV.UK includes a protocol and was updated on 17 April 2026.

Selling Mexican property as a non-resident: the tax

When a person who is not a Mexican tax resident sells a house, condo or lot located in Mexico, the income is taxed in Mexico, because the property is there (Income Tax Law, Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, LISR, art. 160).

Rental income tax for non-residents of Mexico

If you are not a Mexican tax resident and you rent out a property located in Mexico, the rent has a Mexican source and the federal Income Tax Law (LISR, art. 158) taxes it at 25% of the income, with no deduction.

Acquisition tax by state

Property acquisition tax in Mexico, state by state

Mexico has no national tax on acquiring a home. The tax the buyer pays at closing is created by each state's law and collected by the municipio (the local council), so the same MX$3,000,000 purchase is taxed differently from one town to the next.

Quintana Roo acquisition tax: 2% to 4% by municipality

In Quintana Roo the buyer's acquisition tax, the impuesto sobre adquisición de bienes inmuebles (ISABI), is set municipality by municipality, not by the state.

Jalisco property transfer tax: the appraisal sets the base

Jalisco taxes the buyer through the impuesto sobre transmisiones patrimoniales, a municipal tax whose base is fixed by the state's Ley de Hacienda Municipal and whose rates are fixed in each municipality's 2026 revenue law, as progressive tables running from about 2.5% to 3.5% of the base.

Baja California Sur acquisition tax: 3% less a UMA deduction

In Baja California Sur the buyer's impuesto sobre adquisición de bienes inmuebles (ISABI) is 3% of the property value in Los Cabos, La Paz and Loreto, but each municipal law first subtracts a sum in UMA from the value: five years of daily UMA in Los Cabos, five annual UMA for a house in La Paz, and two years of daily UMA in Loreto.

Baja California acquisition tax: Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito

Baja California's impuesto sobre adquisición de inmuebles (ISAI) is built in two layers. The state's municipal finance law sets a default of 2% on the value after deducting one annual UMA, and fixes the base, the deadline and the notary's duties.

Yucatán acquisition tax: Mérida's table, Progreso 4%

In Yucatán the buyer's impuesto sobre adquisición de inmuebles (ISAI) is created and tabled by each municipality's law. Mérida uses a progressive table (2.5% to 5%, with fixed amounts), Progreso a flat 4%, and Valladolid a single rate by price band (3% to 5%).

Nayarit acquisition tax: 2% in Bahía de Banderas and Tepic

In Nayarit the buyer's impuesto sobre adquisición de bienes inmuebles is 2% of the property's value, a rate written into the state's municipal finance law (art. 40) and repeated in the 2026 revenue laws of Bahía de Banderas (Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, Sayulita) and Tepic.

Guanajuato acquisition tax: a UMA deduction, then a table

In Guanajuato the buyer's impuesto sobre adquisición de bienes inmuebles (ISABI) is calculated in two steps. The state's municipal tax law first deducts ten annual UMA (MX$427,946.40 in 2026) from the value of every purchase, then each municipality's 2026 table applies.

Property transfer tax in Oaxaca: 2026 rules by municipio

In Oaxaca the tax a buyer pays when a home changes hands is called the impuesto sobre traslación de dominio (property transfer tax, ISTD), and each municipio sets its own rate in its annual revenue law.

Property acquisition tax in Sinaloa: 2% plus a 10% add-on

Sinaloa is unusual because the state law itself fixes the rate: the impuesto sobre adquisición de inmuebles (ISAI, property acquisition tax) is 2 % of the taxable base in every municipio, under the state's municipal-finance law.

Property transfer tax in Sonora: Guaymas and Puerto Peñasco

Sonora splits this tax in two. The state's Ley de Hacienda Municipal defines the impuesto sobre traslación de dominio de bienes inmuebles (ITDBI, a transfer tax paid by the buyer), its base and its deadlines; the rate is whatever each municipio's annual revenue law says.

Property transfer tax in Chihuahua: 2% plus surcharges

A buyer in the state of Chihuahua pays the impuesto sobre traslación de dominio de bienes inmuebles (ISTD, a transfer tax) to the municipio.

Property acquisition tax in Coahuila: Saltillo and Torreón

In Coahuila, the impuesto sobre adquisición de inmuebles (ISAI, property acquisition tax) works from a state-wide municipal finance code but takes its rate from each municipio's yearly revenue law.

Property transfer tax in Colima: Colima and Manzanillo

Colima is one of the cheaper states for a high-priced home, because its tax is a marginal table with a 2 % top rate.

Property transfer tax in Querétaro city: 2026 table

Querétaro city has the highest acquisition tax of the 53 municipios in Payotte's calculator, on both the MX$3 million and the MX$8 million reference prices, and it uses a progressive table.

Buying

Buying a home in Mexico: the steps from offer to deed

A home purchase in Mexico is completed before a state-appointed notary, who prepares the escritura pública (the public deed), obtains a certificate of liens from the Registro Público de la Propiedad (the state property registry) and files the deed for registration.

Closing costs when buying a home in Mexico

There is no single percentage for Mexican closing costs, because the largest items are set by the state and the municipio: the acquisition tax (called ISAI or impuesto sobre adquisición de bienes inmuebles in most places), the registry duties and the notary's fee.

The notario público in a Mexican home purchase

A Mexican notario público is not a clerk who stamps papers.

The escritura pública: Mexico's property deed

In Mexico a sale of land or a building takes effect between the parties by contract, but the law ties it to a form: the federal civil code requires a public deed (escritura pública, an instrument drawn up and kept by a notary) when the appraised value exceeds 365 times the daily minimum reference.

The Registro Público de la Propiedad in Mexico

The property registry (Registro Público de la Propiedad) is where a Mexican deed becomes effective against everyone else. It is a state institution, so there are as many registries and registry procedures as states.

Certificate of liens in Mexico (libertad de gravamen)

A certificate of liens (certificado de libertad de gravamen, also called a certificate of existence or non-existence of encumbrances) is a document from the state property registry that says whether a given property carries mortgages, attachments or other recorded burdens, and who the registered owner is.

Property appraisal (avalúo) in Mexico: who signs one

In a Mexican purchase the word avalúo covers at least three different documents with three different signatories: the bank appraisal a lender requires for a mortgage, the tax appraisal a state or municipality accepts to set the acquisition-tax base, and the cadastral value that the municipal cadastre assigns.

Cadastral value (valor catastral) in Mexico explained

The valor catastral (cadastral value) is the value that the local cadastre, not the market, attaches to a property for tax purposes. It is built from official unit-value tables, per square metre of land and of construction, and it appears on the property's cadastral record.

Buying a condo in Mexico: the condominium regime

A Mexican apartment is usually owned under a régimen de propiedad en condominio: you own your unit outright and a share of the common areas. The detailed rules sit in local condominium laws, and Mexico City's law is the one read here.

Ejido land in Mexico: why buyers must be careful

An ejido is an agrarian community that the federal Ley Agraria recognises as owner of its land, with its own assembly and rules.

Buying off-plan in Mexico: your PROFECO rights

When you buy a new home from a developer, builder or promoter in Mexico, federal consumer law applies on top of the state civil code.

Financing

Mortgage rates in Mexico: Banxico's figures explained

In Mexico, the central bank's target for the overnight interbank rate was held at 6.50 % on 24 September 2026, but that is not what a home buyer pays.

Mortgage payment in Mexico: the formula and an example

A fixed-rate peso mortgage with level instalments has a monthly payment that depends only on three things: the amount borrowed, the monthly interest rate and the number of months.

CAT, Mexico's total annual cost of a mortgage

The CAT (Costo Anual Total, total annual cost) is a single percentage that federal law requires lenders to disclose so that borrowers can compare credit offers.

Binding mortgage offer in Mexico: 20 days, free

Under article 6 of the federal Ley de Transparencia y de Fomento a la Competencia en el Crédito Garantizado (LTFCCG), a lender granting housing credit in Mexico must give an applicant, free of charge and on request, a binding offer (oferta vinculante).

Switching mortgage lender in Mexico: subrogation rights

A federal law, the Ley de Transparencia y de Fomento a la Competencia en el Crédito Garantizado (LTFCCG, last reformed 10 January 2014), lets a borrower repay a mortgage early with a new loan from another lender and have that lender step into the old one's place by operation of law (subrogación de acreedor, article 15).

Infonavit credit for foreign workers: what the law says

Infonavit, Mexico's federal workers' housing fund, lends only to workers who hold savings in their housing sub-account, built from the 5 % of salary that employers must pay for the workers they register.

Fovissste housing credit for public-sector workers

Fovissste (Fondo de la Vivienda del ISSSTE) is the housing fund for workers of federal bodies and of other public entities that have signed an agreement with the ISSSTE.

UDI and UMA explained: Mexico's two reference units

Mexican property law and mortgages use two non-currency units.

Selling and taxes

Selling a home in Mexico: the seller's costs and taxes

A seller in Mexico normally pays federal income tax on the gain, computed on the sale deed, plus a 5 % payment on the gain to the state where the home stands (credited against the federal amount).

Capital gains tax on Mexican property: how it works

Mexico has no separate "capital gains tax". A tax resident who sells real estate reports the gain as ordinary income under Chapter IV of Title IV of the federal Income Tax Law (LISR, arts. 119 to 126).

Mexico's main-home sale exemption: 700,000 UDIS

A person who sells their own home in Mexico pays no federal income tax on the sale if the price does not exceed 700,000 UDIS, the sale is formalised before a notary, and the seller has not already used the exemption in the three years before.

How the notary calculates and pays tax on a Mexican sale

When a Mexican property is sold by public deed, the notary (notario público) calculates the income tax "under their own responsibility" and pays it to the tax authorities, normally within fifteen days of the signing (Income Tax Law, LISR, arts. 126 and 160).

The 5% state payment on a property sale in Mexico

Whoever sells land, a building or both in Mexico must make a second payment of 5% of the gain to the state in which the property is located, in addition to the federal provisional payment.

Rental income tax for residents of Mexico

A person who is a Mexican tax resident and rents out a property in Mexico reports the rent under Chapter III of Title IV of the federal Income Tax Law (LISR, arts. 114 to 118).

VAT on furnished rentals in Mexico

In Mexico, value added tax (IVA, VAT) at 16% is charged on renting out a property that is furnished, or used as a hotel or guest house, but not on renting a dwelling that is used exclusively as a home and is unfurnished (federal VAT Law, LIVA, arts.

Taxes on platform rentals in Mexico (Airbnb-type)

When a host rents a home in Mexico through an online booking platform, the platform must withhold part of the host's taxes. For VAT, it withholds 50% of the VAT charged (100% if the host has not given a tax ID, the RFC).

Renting

Renting a home in Mexico City: the lease rules

In Mexico City, a home rented as a dwelling is governed by chapter IV of the city's civil code, the Código Civil para el Distrito Federal.

Lease registration in Mexico City: the 30-day duty

A landlord letting a home in Mexico City must register the lease in a digital register run by the city government, within 30 days of signing it.

Security deposits on rentals in Mexico: state rules

There is no federal rule on rental deposits in Mexico: each state's civil code decides, and the three codes read here differ. Mexico City says the landlord "no podrá exigir ... más de una mensualidad de renta a manera de depósito" (art. 2448 E).

Rent increases in Mexico: what each state's code says

Whether a Mexican landlord can raise the rent, and by how much, depends on the state. In Mexico City the rent may rise only once a year and "nunca" by more than the inflation Banxico reported for the previous year (civil code art.

Renting as a foreigner in Mexico: what the law says

No law I read makes a foreigner's immigration status a condition for signing a residential lease in Mexico. The Migration Law does require a foreigner to prove "situación migratoria regular" in notarial property transactions (art.

Ending a lease and eviction in Mexico: the civil codes

A residential lease in Mexico ends when its term runs out, by agreement, or through rescission for a breach, and the grounds and notice periods are set by each state's civil code.

Short-term rentals in Mexico City: host registry rules

Since a reform published on 4 April 2024, the Ley de Turismo de la Ciudad de México regulates the "Estancia Turística Eventual": a temporary stay in a residential property "a cambio de una contraprestación".