Guide · Acquisition tax by state

Property acquisition tax in Mexico, state by state

Who sets the buyer's acquisition tax in Mexico (ISAI and local names), how the base is chosen, the 2026 range across 53 municipalities and links by state.

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

In short

Mexico has no national tax on acquiring a home. The tax the buyer pays at closing is created by each state’s law and collected by the municipio (the local council), so the same MX$3,000,000 purchase is taxed differently from one town to the next. On Payotte’s calculator, which covers 53 municipalities in 27 states plus Mexico City (whose code sets one table for the whole city) and reads each one’s 2026 law, that purchase carries MX$24,144 in Guanajuato city and MX$170,306 in Querétaro before any recording fee. The tax is paid by the buyer, normally through the notario público (a state-appointed notary, a senior lawyer), and applies the same way whether the buyer is Mexican or foreign in the texts read for this guide.

What the tax is called and who sets it

Article 115-IV of the Constitution (a federal text) says municipalities receive the contributions that the states establish on real property, including its transfer (“traslación”), and that councils propose their rates and tables to the state legislature. This is why the rule is local. The name changes with the law:

  • Impuesto sobre adquisición de inmuebles (ISAI) or de bienes inmuebles (ISABI): Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Nayarit and Guanajuato, among others.
  • Impuesto sobre transmisiones patrimoniales: Jalisco, where the state law fixes the base and each municipality’s revenue law fixes the rate.
  • Impuesto sobre traslado de dominio: the label used in Querétaro’s 2026 table.

Three patterns appear in the laws read:

  1. The municipality sets the rate. Quintana Roo (a flat rate per municipality, 2% to 4%), Jalisco (a progressive table per municipality) and Nayarit (2% in the two municipalities read) work this way.
  2. The state law sets a default and the municipality can replace it. Baja California’s state law says 2% after a deduction of one annual UMA, but Tijuana, Ensenada, Rosarito and Mexicali publish their own tables. Mexicali’s law states that the state deduction and rate do not apply there.
  3. The state law fixes the deductions and the municipality fixes the table. Guanajuato deducts ten annual UMA from every purchase, then each municipality’s table applies.

The base: usually the highest of several values

The taxed value is not simply the price. The laws read for this series take the highest of the price (sometimes updated for inflation), the cadastral value (valor catastral, the municipal registry’s value) and an appraisal by an authorised appraiser (perito valuador). Jalisco goes the other way for a home: its law makes the base the appraisal approved by the municipal cadastre, whatever the price. Appraisals have a short life (90 days in Los Cabos and La Paz, 180 days in most of Quintana Roo, six months in Mérida and Nayarit, twelve months in Baja California and Guanajuato), so the date of the appraisal matters.

Payotte’s calculator uses the price as the base unless you enter a higher reference value. Where the cadastral value or appraisal is higher, the real tax is higher.

What it costs: the 2026 range (calculation)

The figures below are Payotte calculations on a price of MX$3,000,000, using each municipality’s official 2026 rate, with the base equal to the price. They exclude the recording fee, notary fees and any appraisal fee.

MunicipalityRuleTax on MX$3,000,000
Guanajuato (Guanajuato)Progressive table after a 10 UMA deductionMX$24,144
Chetumal, Bacalar (Quintana Roo)Flat 2%MX$60,000
Cancún, Cozumel (Quintana Roo)Flat 3%MX$90,000
Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Isla MujeresFlat 4%MX$120,000
Querétaro (Querétaro)Progressive table of the municipalityMX$170,306

Across all 53 municipalities the tax on that purchase runs from about 0.8% to about 5.7% of the price. Nine places could not be computed because the 2026 law was unreachable or only an old copy could be read (for example Monterrey, Hermosillo, Acapulco, Campeche and Toluca); the calculator lists them with the reason rather than guessing.

Who pays, when, and the notary’s part

In the laws read, the buyer is the taxpayer. The notario usually calculates the tax, states it in the deed (escritura pública) and files the return, and is jointly liable if the tax is unpaid; the seller is also jointly liable in Nayarit. The deadline runs from the signing or the deed and varies: 15 working days in Cancún, 30 days in Baja California Sur, Baja California and Guanajuato, 30 working days in Mérida and Valladolid, one month in Nayarit, two months in Jalisco. In several states the property registry will not record the deed without proof of payment, so the tax is paid before the registration and not afterwards.

Other costs that vary by state

The state also charges a fee to record the deed at the Registro Público de la Propiedad (property registry). On the same MX$3,000,000 it is MX$1,490 in Yucatán, MX$2,574 in Guanajuato, MX$4,801 in Jalisco, about MX$10,594 in Baja California Sur, MX$12,794 in Baja California and about MX$15,461 in Nayarit. Quintana Roo charges 65 UMA (MX$7,625) per act and folio. Foreign buyers in the restricted zone also pay federal fees to the foreign ministry; those are covered in closing costs in Mexico and fideicomiso permit cost and timing.

State guides

Each guide below gives the tax name, who sets it, the base, the table, the reductions, the deadline, the recording fee and the traps:

To compare two towns on your own price, use the closing costs calculator. For the full list of places see cities and by state.

Which professional to consult

A notario público in the state where the property stands calculates and files the tax and can say which value the municipality will use. A perito valuador (appraiser) prepares the appraisal the law requires, and a real estate lawyer can explain how the state law applies to a trust purchase. See the pages on the notary, appraiser and real estate lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a federal property purchase tax in Mexico?

No. The tax on acquiring real estate is created by state law and collected by the municipality, as article 115-IV of the Constitution provides. Federal taxes such as income tax and VAT are separate.

Does a foreign buyer pay a higher acquisition tax?

None of the municipal or state provisions read for this series makes the rate depend on the buyer’s nationality. Foreign buyers in the restricted zone pay additional federal fees to the foreign ministry, which are a different charge.

Is the tax calculated on the price I pay?

Not always. Most laws read use the highest of the price, the cadastral value and an appraisal. Jalisco uses the approved appraisal for a home.

Who pays the tax, the buyer or the seller?

The buyer is the taxpayer in the laws read. The notary files it, and in Nayarit the seller is jointly liable with the buyer.

Why can the same price cost MX$24,000 in one town and MX$170,000 in another?

Rates and tables are local, and some states first deduct a sum in UMA (Guanajuato deducts ten annual UMA). Compare the exact town and the exact value on the calculator.

Are all municipalities in Mexico covered?

No. The calculator covers 53 municipalities and Mexico City where the 2026 law could be read at an official source. Ask the municipal treasury or a notary for any other town.

More guides on acquisition tax by state

Sources

All guides · Payotte Mexico