Property transfer tax in Chihuahua: 2% plus surcharges

How the tax is built

The laws I read put the tax in the Código Municipal para el Estado de Chihuahua (articles 155 to 160 and 165 Bis, which they cite but I did not read) and add the 2026 rate in each municipio’s revenue law. Chihuahua’s article 56 says the rate is 2 % on the taxable base; Juárez’s article 38 says the same. The 4 % tasa adicional universitaria is calculated on the net tax and paid with it; its proceeds go to the state’s autonomous university (Juárez’s law names both the Chihuahua and the Ciudad Juárez universities).

Chihuahua city also levies, for 2026, fixed extraordinary contributions each time a property changes hands: 1.00 UMA for a municipal health institute, 1.50 UMA for the women’s institute, 0.50 UMA for the municipal family-welfare agency and 0.20 UMA for the fire and rescue corps: 3.2 UMA in total, MX$375.39 at the 2026 UMA of MX$117.31 (INEGI). Juárez’s law does not list them in the chapter I read; the calculator adds none.

The base

In Chihuahua city, the base is the greatest of an appraisal (by the municipal treasury, a credit institution or a valuation specialist accredited with the state professions department, based on physical value and no older than a year when the tax is paid), the cadastral value and the value stated in the deed (article 55). Two traps are written into that article:

• If the property was bought less than three years earlier and the earlier deal was itself taxed, the taxable value is the current value minus the value taxed in the earlier acquisition.
• The appraisal must cover land and buildings together, even if only one is bought, unless it is proven that the buyer built at their own cost or acquired earlier and paid the tax.

Juárez’s article 38 refers to the same state code (article 159) for the base, which I did not read.

Worked calculation

Chihuahua city, price equal to base:

Ciudad Juárez has the same tax and surcharge without the fixed charges: MX$82,034.57 and MX$186,034.57. These are calculations from the laws’ rates; notary and appraisal fees are not included. The closing-costs calculator reproduces them.

Recording fee

Under article 29-I-a of the Ley Estatal de Derechos, recording a deed that transfers ownership costs 167.3734 UMA (MX$19,634.57), regardless of price. The same figure applies to recording a mortgage, which is listed in the same item.

Deadlines and the notary

In Chihuahua city the tax is due within the month following the date of the act. For a deed, the law allows the longer of that period or 30 working days from the signing. The notary or another official with notarial functions calculates the tax and pays it under their own responsibility, with a declaration filed with the municipal treasury; the filing must include a certified cadastral plan, an updated appraisal and proof that the seller’s property tax is paid. The notary also has to show that the buyer’s property tax is current and that no debts are owed to the municipio. Even when no tax is due, a return is required. If the tax is not proven paid in time, the notary notes “NO PASÓ” on the deed, and the deal can be revalidated only after updating the values and paying the unpaid tax, surcharges and any penalty. An act signed outside Mexico has 90 working days from when it takes legal effect in Mexico.

Reductions that rarely apply

Chihuahua city grants a reduced taxable base for donations, divorce settlements, inheritance and certain prescription rulings (article 89), and a 70 % base for new social-interest housing worth at most 25 times the annual UMA, MX$1,069,866 (calculation, article 91). Juárez has a 1 % rate for inheritances and for gifts in the direct line. None of this concerns a MX$3 million purchase on the open market.

Traps

• The 4 % surcharge is on the tax, not on the price.
• The earlier-acquisition deduction needs documents to prove it.
• The “NO PASÓ” note means a late payment complicates the deal.
• Chihuahua city and Ciudad Juárez are not interchangeable: only the first adds the fixed charges.

Which professional to consult

A notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer) prepares and files the return; see the notary profession. A registered appraiser provides the valuation; see the appraiser profession.