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

Who sets the tax

Each municipality has its own Ley de Hacienda (a local tax law passed by the state congress), and each one contains the rate. That is why neighbouring coastal towns differ by a factor of two. Playa del Carmen’s article was reformed on 10 December 2025 and Tulum’s on 9 December 2024; Isla Mujeres’ rate was reformed on 3 July 2025. Rates can therefore change between two purchases: always check the law in force on the date of the deed.

The other municipalities of the state were not read for this guide and are not computed on the calculator; ask the municipal treasury.

The base: the highest of four values

Cancún’s article 26 is typical. The base is the highest of: the price, updated by the consumer price index; the value on a cadastral certificate no more than 180 days old; an appraisal by an expert in the state register of appraisers, validated by the state tax authority and no more than six months old; and the last value declared by the seller. The highest figure is then updated under the federal Fiscal Code. Playa del Carmen uses the same four values with 180-day appraisals; Tulum, Cozumel, Chetumal and Isla Mujeres list three or four of them, and in Chetumal the cadastral and private appraisals may be up to six months old. Usufruct and bare ownership are each valued at 50% of the property.

In practice the cheapest-looking deed does not fix the tax: a cadastral or appraised value above the price raises it.

Worked examples (calculations)

These use the official rates with the base equal to the price, as on the closing costs calculator. The recording fee is 65 UMA × MX$117.31 = MX$7,625.15.

Adding the recording fee, the MX$3 million purchase costs MX$97,625 in Cancún and MX$127,625 in Playa del Carmen. Notary fees and the appraisal are not included. See Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Bacalar, Chetumal and the state page.

Who pays and when

The taxpayer is the person who acquires the property. Payment is due within 15 working days in Cancún and Chetumal, and within 15 days (the word “hábiles” does not appear) in Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cozumel and Bacalar, counted, in Cancún, from the working day after the date of the deed or other triggering document. Late payment brings fines and surcharges under the municipal fiscal code.

The notary’s role

When the sale is in an escritura pública (the notarial deed), Cancún’s article 29 requires the notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer) to calculate the tax, state it in the deed and file the return with the municipal treasury, and makes the notary jointly liable. The return lists, among other things, the transaction value, the cadastral value, the current appraisal and the last declared value, and attaches a certificate that property tax is paid, a certificate that there is no debt for municipal public works, and a statement on the use of land under the municipal plans. Where the buyer is foreign or has no tax ID (RFC), the treasury issues the receipt for “residents abroad” or “the general public”.

The recording fee

The state charges 65 UMA per act and per registry folio for the review and qualification of a deed (article 29-I of the Ley de Derechos), which is MX$7,625 at the 2026 UMA of MX$117.31. The fee is charged for each act, so a deed that contains several acts costs more than the figure above.

Traps

• Registration can be refused. Since the reform of 10 December 2025, Cancún’s article 28 says the state registry suspends or denies registration if proof of payment is missing.
• Land with a building. In Cancún, if a lot is sold with a building already on it, the buyer must show with official documents in their own name that they built it; otherwise the building is taxed too.
• Beachfront. For property next to the federal maritime-terrestrial zone, Cancún asks for a certificate of use or no use of a concession and proof that the related fees are paid.
• Trusts. The law lists as taxable acts the transfer into a translative trust (fideicomiso, a bank-held trust) and the trustee’s later transfer. Ask the notary which acts apply to a purchase through the restricted-zone trust described in fideicomiso bank trust explained.
• Price updating. In Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Chetumal the price is raised by the consumer price index factor between the month of the purchase and the month of payment before it is compared with the other values.

Which professional to consult

The notario in Quintana Roo files the tax and can confirm the municipality’s rate and the base it will use on the day of signing. A perito valuador registered in the state register prepares the appraisal, and a lawyer can explain the trust acts. See notary and appraiser, and the national overview in property acquisition tax in Mexico.