Guide · Buying

Cadastral value (valor catastral) in Mexico explained

What the valor catastral is, who sets it, and why the acquisition-tax base is often the highest of price, appraisal and cadastral value.

Checked on against the official sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

The valor catastral (cadastral value) is the value that the local cadastre, not the market, attaches to a property for tax purposes. It is built from official unit-value tables, per square metre of land and of construction, and it appears on the property’s cadastral record. It matters to a buyer for two reasons: it usually sets the annual property tax, and in several places the acquisition tax is charged on the highest of the price, the cadastral value and an appraisal. In Mexico City, for instance, the code says the value taken is “the highest” of those three (Código Fiscal, art. 116).

Who sets it

Property-tax rules sit at the municipal level: the Constitution (art. 115, IV) gives municipios the revenues from state-established taxes on real property and on changes in its value. Within that frame, each state or municipality has its own system:

  • Mexico City. Congress issues each year the table of unit values of land, constructions, special installations and accessories, which “will serve as the basis for taxpayers to determine the cadastral value” of their properties. The code says the unit values reflect market prices and the common features of properties in the different zones, mapped to homogeneous colonias catastrales (cadastral neighbourhoods) (art. 129).
  • Guanajuato. The property-tax base is the “fiscal value”: declared by the taxpayer using the unit values set each year in each municipality’s revenue law, or established by an appraisal by certified experts authorised by the municipal treasury (Ley Hacendaria Municipal, art. 24, in force since July 2026).
  • Mérida (Yucatán). When the property-tax base is the cadastral value, it is “the value recorded in the current cadastral card” issued by the municipal Cadastre Directorate under the Mérida cadastre regulation (art. 45 of the Ley de Hacienda), with the state cadastre law applying to anything not covered.
  • Benito Juárez (Quintana Roo). The municipal Ley de Hacienda refers to the “value contained in a cadastral card” as one of the bases for the acquisition tax (art. 26); the card is issued by the municipal cadastre.

The cadastral value in the acquisition tax

Three laws read use the cadastral value as one competitor for the acquisition-tax base:

PlaceBase of the acquisition tax
Mexico City (Código Fiscal, art. 116)The highest of the acquisition value, the cadastral value determined with the unit values, and the commercial value from an appraisal by the tax authority or a registered person
Guanajuato (Ley Hacendaria Municipal, art. 42)The highest of the registered fiscal value, the transaction value and the expert value; a bank appraisal may be filed; valid one year for this tax
Benito Juárez, Quintana Roo (Ley de Hacienda, art. 26)The highest of the price updated for inflation, the cadastral-card value not older than 180 days, a registered appraiser’s value validated by the state tax authority and no older than six months, and the seller’s last declared value

Why it matters: if the cadastral value is high relative to the price on the deed, the tax is computed on the cadastral value. A low price on the deed does not lower the base. In Mexico City, when a property is acquired while still under construction, the cadastral and appraisal values are set from the structural and architectural characteristics of the project (art. 116).

The cadastral value and the annual tax

The same figure usually feeds the annual predial. See property tax. The Othón P. Blanco (Quintana Roo) municipal law, for example, lets the tax base be chosen among the cadastral, bank-appraised or declared value, or the rent the property produces, “taking into consideration the highest value” (art. 12). Rates and bases are municipal, so the details of a given place need the local law.

Cadastral value is not the market value

Because it is set from tables and zones, a cadastral value can be well below or above what comparable homes sell for. It is also not an appraisal: see property appraisal. Checking it before you sign tells you what base the tax office will start from, and in several places the notary files the acquisition-tax declaration (see closing costs).

How to find a property’s cadastral value

The laws read speak of a cédula catastral (cadastral card) or a cadastral certificate. Municipal cadastres or state cadastral offices issue them; Benito Juárez’s fee law lists a charge for the card. This guide did not read the online services; ask the municipal treasury or the notary. The Jalisco notary law read (art. 84) requires, for unregistered properties, a cadastral certificate from the municipal authority to be used in the deed.

What it costs

Cadastral records and cards carry local fees, generally expressed in UMA; no amount is stated here. The overall buyer’s bill is in closing costs in Mexico; the calculator applies municipal schedules.

Which professional to consult

The notary calculates the tax base (notary’s role). An appraiser (profile) can value a property for a tax appraisal where one is allowed.

Frequently asked questions

Is the cadastral value the price I should pay?

No. It is a tax value; the price is agreed between the parties.

Can I lower the tax by declaring a lower price?

Not where the base is the highest of price, cadastral value and appraisal, as in the three laws above.

Is the cadastral value the same in every state?

No. Each state or municipality builds its own tables; see the examples above.

Who can challenge a cadastral value?

The laws read for this guide did not set out the challenge procedure; ask the municipal cadastre or the state tax authority.

Does the cadastral value change every year?

In Mexico City, Congress issues unit values each year (art. 129). Elsewhere, check the local law.

More guides on buying

Sources

All guides · Payotte Mexico