Property transfer tax in Querétaro city: 2026 table

Where the rule sits

The tax is set by the municipal revenue law for 2026, published in the state gazette on 25 December 2025, in a section of articles numbered 15 and 15.1 to 15.14. Querétaro’s law has a feature that matters to buyers: it states that the deductions for social-interest and popular housing found in the state’s municipal-finance law do not apply to it (article 15.8). The same gazette issue carries the 2026 laws of other Querétaro municipios, such as San Juan del Río and Tequisquiapan, each of which sets its own rule; they are not computed here.

The table

The law prints a progressive table with eight ranges. The fixed amount is added to the “factor” (in effect a marginal rate) applied to the excess over the lower limit:

The law’s steps: find the range that contains the base, subtract that range’s lower limit, multiply the excess by the factor and add the fixed amount. A tiny property therefore still pays MX$1,628.55.

Calculation on MX$3,000,000 (range 5): 74,616.95 + (3,000,000 − 1,379,992.90) × 5.9067 % = MX$170,305.91. On MX$8,000,000 (range 6): 194,131.76 + (8,000,000 − 3,403,349.29) × 6.2313 % = MX$480,562.86.

The base

The base is the higher of the transaction value and the commercial value set by a tax appraisal (avalúo para fines hacendarios), carried out by an appraiser authorised by the state’s executive branch (article 15.2). An appraisal is valid for one year, as long as the property keeps the same physical characteristics at the time of the transfer (15.3). For a first purchase of a plot that has moved to full ownership from ejido status, the reference is the value set by the Ley Agraria. The law also leaves out of the taxed value any construction the buyer built while already in possession or use of the property, if documents prove it.

When to pay and what the notary does

The tax arises when the operation takes place, and it is due within 15 working days of the acquisition. For a deed, the count starts from the signing, and the notary must record the day and hour of the signature (article 15.6). The notary then acts as the municipality’s tax auxiliary: retaining the tax, giving the buyer the breakdown of the calculation, issuing a tax withholding receipt and filing an electronic return with a certified copy of the deed (articles 15.9 to 15.13). The return carries the base, the cadastral key and the date of withholding, and it must be accompanied by the tax appraisal, unless an exception in the state law applies, and by property-tax receipts issued in the last six months, or a no-debt certificate. Municipal staff are told not to accept a return that lacks these documents.

Reviews after payment

The cadastre has five years from the notice of transfer to review the content and value in the appraisal; if it does not decide within that time, the value stated is deemed authorised, and the clock pauses when it requests documents. The tax authority can also check the calculation and payment for five years after payment (article 15.14).

Traps

• On both reference prices the effective rate is above that of every other municipio in the calculator (4 % or less at MX$3 million, tax only).
• A reduction for social housing exists in state law but is expressly excluded from this municipality’s law.
• The date and hour of signature are the start of the 15-working-day count.
• The notary’s withholding is not a substitute for checking the breakdown: ask for it.

Which professional to consult

A notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer) retains and files the tax; see the notary profession. A tax-appraisal specialist authorised by the state produces the appraisal; see the appraiser profession.