Property acquisition tax in Coahuila: Saltillo and Torreón

Who decides what

The two municipal laws I read say the same thing in different words. They apply the rate to the taxable base that the state’s Código Financiero para los Municipios del Estado de Coahuila de Zaragoza sets out (articles 49 to 57 in the Torreón law); I did not read that code, so the base rule used by the calculator, the higher of the declared value and the municipal cadastre’s appraisal, is a reading of those references and the cadastral-fee provisions, not a quotation. The rate and the reductions are written in each municipal revenue law. For example, the Sierra Mojada law in the same gazette issue as Torreón’s sets 3 %. Other Coahuila municipios such as Monclova or Ramos Arizpe are not computed.

Saltillo: 3 %

Article 3 applies 3 % of the base to whoever acquires the property. Calculation: MX$3,000,000 × 3 % = MX$90,000; MX$8,000,000 × 3 % = MX$240,000.

Reductions in the same article are tied to modest housing. A 0 % rate applies to social-interest or popular homes bought with a loan from a public housing or social-security lender, with value ceilings of 15 or 25 times the annual UMA (MX$641,919.60 or MX$1,069,866, calculated) and plot and floor-area limits; 1.5 % for pensioners, retirees, older adults and people with disabilities if the cadastral appraisal does not exceed 35 times the annual UMA (MX$1,497,812.40, calculated) and the buyer owns no other property in Saltillo; 0 % for an inheritance within the direct line or spouse; 1 % for gifts in the direct line. None of these fits a MX$3 million sale.

A buyer may also, for the acts listed in fractions III to V of article 50 of the state code (which I did not read) when recorded in a public deed, defer 50 % of the tax until ownership passes or the promised contract is signed, with the deferred half adjusted by the consumer price index.

Torreón: 2.5 % and the “primer cuadro”

Torreón’s article 3 sets a table of rates by type of acquisition. The ordinary rate, for cases not otherwise listed, is 2.5 %. Acquisitions inside the historic first square are taxed at 1.5 %; article 73 draws that perimeter: west Calle Múzquiz, east Calzada Colón, north Boulevard Independencia and south Boulevard Revolución, with exclusions for lots fronting those streets themselves. Calculation: MX$3,000,000 × 2.5 % = MX$75,000; MX$8,000,000 × 2.5 % = MX$200,000. If your property is downtown, ask the cadastre which rate applies; the calculator uses 2.5 % only.

Cadastral appraisal and its fees

The tax cannot be paid without a municipal cadastral appraisal, which has its own fee:

• Saltillo: MX$935 for the appraisal used to calculate the tax, plus a valuation fee of 1.8 per thousand of the appraised value; the appraisal is valid two months.
• Torreón: MX$633 per property, plus 1.8 per thousand; valid two months (to the end of the year if requested in November or December). It is charged even when no tax arises.

Calculation of the 1.8 per thousand, if the appraisal equals the price: MX$5,400 on MX$3,000,000 and MX$14,400 on MX$8,000,000. The calculator does not include these, so budget them separately.

Deadlines

Torreón requires payment within 60 calendar days of the date the first municipal appraisal for the transaction is issued when the act must be in a public deed; a late payment attracts surcharges set in that law. For Saltillo, I did not find a payment deadline in the article I read; ask the cadastre. In Sierra Mojada, for comparison, a late payment adds 2 % for each month.

Recording fee and the surcharges

Article 54-II of the Ley de Hacienda para el Estado de Coahuila de Zaragoza sets MX$26,726 for registering a deed that transfers, modifies or ends ownership, whatever the value. Three other provisions of the same law matter. A 10 % additional tax on the fees of the registry is created by a transitory article. And a 22.5 % tax for education and public security applies to payments of taxes and fees under that law, with an exemption list (article 53-F) that names the additional registry tax but, in my reading, not the registry fee itself. I could not confirm how the registry collects them, and the calculator applies neither, so ask the registry for the exact amount.

Traps

• A cadastral appraisal expires in two months.
• Downtown Torreón has a lower rate than the rest of the city.
• Saltillo’s 3 % and Torreón’s 2.5 % are for the whole base.
• The cadastral fees are due even where the tax is zero.

Which professional to consult

A notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer) handles the deed and the payment sequence; see the notary profession. A real-estate lawyer can confirm the rate of a specific municipio; see the real-estate lawyer profession.