Baja California acquisition tax: Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito

Who sets what

Article 75 Bis B of the Ley de Hacienda Municipal del Estado de Baja California creates the tax across the state: who owes it, which acts are taxed (including a sale, a promise to buy where the buyer takes possession, an assignment of purchase rights, and contributions to or transfers from a trust that the federal Fiscal Code treats as a sale), the base, the 2% default rate and the procedure. Each municipality’s revenue law for 2026 then sets the amount owed through a table. Mexicali’s law says expressly that its table replaces the deduction and the rate of fractions III and IV of article 75 Bis B. Tijuana, Ensenada and Rosarito do not say either way, so the calculator ignores the state’s one-UMA deduction there; with it, the tax in Ensenada would be about MX$1,500 to MX$2,200 lower. Ask the municipal treasury which reading it applies.

The base

The base is the highest of three values (art. 75 Bis B-II): the price updated by the consumer price index factor from the month before the acquisition to the month before payment; the cadastral value; and the commercial value in an appraisal by an expert authorised by the municipality. If the authority orders an appraisal and it exceeds the agreed price by more than 10%, the price is disregarded and the tax is calculated on the appraisal. The appraisal must use the market, cost and income approaches as appropriate, be made by an appraiser registered with the municipal collection office, and is valid for twelve months, unless building work changes the property. The municipality must approve or reject the appraisal within seven calendar days; if it does not answer, the return is accepted and the tax can be checked later.

Ensenada’s law adds that the tax authority may use an appraisal that is not below the unit land and building values in the municipality’s cadastral table for 2026, and that any depreciation allowance counts only up to 30%.

The 2026 tables

Each table works as a fixed amount plus the marginal rate on the part above the bracket’s lower limit. Tijuana’s seventh bracket (3.318%) breaks the regular step of the others, and Payotte applies the table as published.

Worked examples (calculations)

Base equal to the price, official 2026 tables, UMA at MX$117.31. The recording fee is MX$395.02 for analysis plus MX$12,398.60 for the inscription, MX$12,793.62.

On MX$3 million the tax and the state fee add to MX$81,874 in Tijuana and MX$89,294 in Ensenada. Notary fees and the appraisal are not included. See Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito, Mexicali, the state page and the closing costs calculator.

Who pays, when, and the notary

The buyer is the taxpayer. The tax must be paid at the municipal collection office where the property stands within 30 days of the act that triggers it, on the official form, together with the appraisal and the document recording the transaction (art. 75 Bis B-VII). Notaries, judges, registry officials and any public-faith officer may not authorise or record an acquisition unless the applicant proves that the tax is paid, that the property’s other tax obligations are current up to the month of payment (shown by a certificate of no tax liens) and that the boundaries have been marked (by a plan or record from the cadastre). A notary who breaks this is jointly liable for the unpaid tax and exposed to administrative and criminal liability.

The recording fee

The state’s 2026 revenue law (art. 12) charges MX$395.02 for the analysis of the document and MX$12,398.60 for recording a document that transfers ownership, a flat MX$12,793.62 for a sale deed regardless of value. Registering a mortgage is a separate charge (art. 12-IV). Fees are not due on property bought by public bodies or on certain regularised housing.

Zero-rate and exempt cases

The state law sets a 0% rate for gifts, inheritances and legacies between spouses and between parents and children, for non-profit civil and religious associations, and for ejido land titled by the national agrarian registry. It does not apply to a normal purchase.

Traps

• Four municipalities, four tables. The 2% in the state law does not tell you the figure; read the municipality’s table.
• The 10% appraisal rule. An appraisal ordered by the authority that is more than 10% above the price replaces the price.
• UMA-denominated table in Tijuana. The base is converted into UMA at the UMA value in force, so the bracket you land in depends on that value.
• The state fee is flat. MX$12,794 on a MX$1 million home and on a MX$8 million one, as read.
• Trust purchases. Contributing property to a trust or assigning trust rights is taxed when the Fiscal Code treats it as a sale; ask the notary before signing.

Which professional to consult

A notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer) in Baja California checks the municipal rule and files the payment. An appraiser registered with the municipal office prepares the appraisal; the municipality has seven days to approve it. See notary, appraiser and the overview property acquisition tax in Mexico.