On a $500,000 USD Tulum condo, the calculator’s defaults land at about $35,652 USD in closing costs (7.1% of the price), and $20,000 USD of that is Tulum’s 4% acquisition tax.[Ley de Hacienda del Municipio de Tulum, Art. 50 (ISAI 4%), 2026-10] The rest is the notary, registry, appraisal, attorney and fideicomiso, with placeholder amounts until you have written quotes. The acquisition tax (ISAI) is set municipality by municipality, so the calculator computes it from each municipality’s 2026 law.
It complements /mexico/closing-costs/ which provides the editorial detail behind the calculator outputs.
How to use the calculator
The calculator requires:
- Purchase price in USD (or USD-equivalent if MXN-denominated). For all-in modeling, use the agreed purchase price before adding closing costs.
- Municipality: ISAI is set by the municipality, and several use a progressive table, so the rate depends on the price.
- Coastal vs. inland: coastal property within the restricted zone (within 50 km of coastline or 100 km of land border) requires a fideicomiso bank trust, which adds setup cost and ongoing fees.
The calculator outputs:
- ISAI (Impuesto Sobre Adquisición de Inmuebles): the municipal acquisition tax, from 2% in Bahía de Banderas[Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Bahía de Banderas 2026, Art. 21 (ISAI 2%), 2026-10] to about 6% in Querétaro[Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Querétaro 2026, Art. 15.7 (traslado de dominio table), 2026-10] and Mexico City[Código Fiscal de la Ciudad de México, Art. 113 (ISAI table, Gaceta Oficial 19-12-2025), 2026-10] on a $400,000 USD purchase. The legal base is the highest of the price, the cadastral value and a commercial appraisal.
- Notary fee: notaries quote by deal. The calculator starts at 1.5% of the price as a placeholder; replace it with your notary’s written quote.
- Property Registry and certificates: a fixed $1,500 USD allowance in the calculator (assumed)
- Fideicomiso setup (coastal only): the trustee bank’s one-time setup fee, which varies by bank, plus the federal SRE permit fee (MXN 21,648.83 plus a MXN 596.29 review fee in 2026)[Ley Federal de Derechos (SRE restricted-zone permit fee), 2026-09]
- Title insurance (optional): 0.5% of the price in the calculator (assumed)
- Buyer’s attorney (optional but recommended): 0.75% of the price in the calculator (assumed)
- Other administrative costs: stamps, certificates, miscellaneous fees
Assumptions
- ISAI is computed on the purchase price, converted at an assumed 18.5 MXN per USD; if the cadastral value or an appraisal is higher, the tax is higher
- The notary fee is your input; 1.5% is a placeholder
- Fideicomiso setup excludes the bank’s annual trustee fee (modeled separately in /calculators/property-tax-mexico/)
- Title insurance and buyer’s attorney are treated as optional but recommended; default-on for foreign buyers
When to override the default
Override the default when:
- Your property is in a municipality the calculator doesn’t list (Corregidora and El Marqués next to Querétaro, Chapala and others set their own ISAI; Mazatlán uses Sinaloa’s state rate)
- You’re financing through a Mexican lender — additional origination, appraisal, and lender-required-attorney costs apply
- You have a written setup-fee quote from a specific fiduciario bank (BBVA, Banamex/Citi, HSBC, Santander and others each set their own)
- You’re skipping title insurance or buyer’s attorney (not recommended but it does change all-in)
ISAI by municipality
ISAI is the one-time acquisition tax paid at closing; predial is the annual property tax. Both are municipal. The table below is computed from each municipality’s 2026 law, and the calculator uses the same figures.
| Municipality | Rule | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tulum, Quintana Roo Tulum | 4% of the property value | 4.00% | Ley de Hacienda del Municipio de Tulum, Art. 50 (reformed POE 09-12-2024) |
| Playa del Carmen (Solidaridad), Quintana Roo Playa del Carmen, Playacar | 4% of the property value, up from 3% in December 2025 | 4.00% | Ley de Hacienda del Municipio de Playa del Carmen, Art. 23 Quinquies (Decreto 167, POE 10-12-2025) |
| Cancún (Benito Juárez), Quintana Roo Cancún | 3% of the property value, plus a 10% municipal surcharge on the tax (3.3% in all) | 3.30% | Ley de Hacienda del Municipio de Benito Juárez, Arts. 27 and 58 |
| Los Cabos, Baja California Sur Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo | 3% of the property value after deducting five times the annual UMA (about MXN 214,000) | 2.91% | Ley de Hacienda para el Municipio de Los Cabos, Art. 35 |
| La Paz, Baja California Sur La Paz | 3% of the property value, up from 2% on January 1, 2026 | 3.00% | Ley de Hacienda para el Municipio de La Paz, Art. 38 (Decreto 3263, BOGE 24-12-2025) |
| Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, Sayulita, Punta Mita | 2% of the property value | 2.00% | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Bahía de Banderas 2026, Art. 21 |
| Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Puerto Vallarta | A progressive table with marginal rates from 2.65% to 3.55% | 3.03% | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Puerto Vallarta 2026, Art. 41 |
| Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara | A progressive table with marginal rates from 2.5% to 3.5% | 3.09% | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Guadalajara 2026, Art. 28, Tabla 1 |
| San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato San Miguel de Allende | A progressive table that reaches a 4% marginal rate above MXN 1.5 million, after deducting ten times the annual UMA (about MXN 428,000) | 3.49% | Ley de Ingresos para el Municipio de San Miguel de Allende 2026, Art. 7 (table); Ley Hacendaria Municipal para el Estado de Guanajuato, Art. 338 (deduction) |
| Mérida, Yucatán Mérida | A progressive table with marginal rates from 2.5% to 5% | 3.99% | Ley de Hacienda del Municipio de Mérida, Art. 60 |
| Querétaro (municipality), Querétaro Querétaro city | A progressive table with marginal rates from about 2.8% to 6.9% | 5.99% | Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Querétaro 2026, Arts. 15.7 and 15.8 |
| Mexico City (CDMX), Mexico City Roma Norte, Condesa, Polanco, Coyoacán | A progressive table with marginal factors from 1.4% to 9% | 5.83% | Código Fiscal de la Ciudad de México, Art. 113 (Gaceta Oficial No. 1762, 19-12-2025) |
For prices from $300,000 USD to $1,000,000 USD, ISAI alone runs from $6,000 USD (Bahía de Banderas, at the low end) to about $63,000 USD (Querétaro, at the high end).
All-in cost summary
What the all-in covers by scenario:
- Inland direct-title (Mérida, San Miguel, Mexico City inland, Guadalajara): ISAI, notary, registration and attorney
- Coastal restricted-zone with fideicomiso (Tulum, Cabo, Vallarta, PDC, Cancún, Sayulita): the same items plus fideicomiso setup and the SRE permit
For a $500,000 USD Tulum condo, with the calculator’s defaults:
- Purchase price: $500,000 USD
- ISAI (Tulum, 4%): $20,000 USD
- Notary fee (1.5% placeholder): $7,500 USD
- Registry and certificates (assumed): $1,500 USD
- Appraisal (assumed): $500 USD
- Fideicomiso setup (assumed $1,200 bank quote) plus the SRE permit (MXN 22,245 at an assumed 18.5 MXN/USD): $2,402 USD
- Buyer’s attorney (0.75%, assumed): $3,750 USD
- All-in closing cost: $35,652 USD (7.1% of the price)
- Total cash at closing: $535,652 USD
The same purchase in Bahía de Banderas (Sayulita, Punta Mita) carries $10,000 USD of ISAI instead of $20,000 USD.
What the calculator does NOT account for
- FX cost on the purchase wire: see /calculators/cross-border-currency-cost/
- Annual carrying costs: see /calculators/property-tax-mexico/
- Financing-related costs: mortgage origination, appraisal, etc.
- Renovation or post-closing capital improvement budget
- ISR on capital gains at eventual sale
- Cross-border tax framework: home-side reporting and reconciliation runs separately
Next step
After running the calculator:
- Confirm the ISAI base with your notary: if the cadastral value or appraisal is above your price, the tax is computed on that
- Model the FX cost at /calculators/cross-border-currency-cost/
- Model the annual carrying cost at /calculators/property-tax-mexico/
- Review the closing-process detail at /mexico/how-to-buy-property/ for the full 60-120 day transaction sequence
For Mexico cross-border-buyer reads, /newsletter sends a curated note.
For broader closing-cost editorial detail, see /mexico/closing-costs/. For coastal restricted-zone fideicomiso mechanics, see /mexico/fideicomiso/.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Tax rates, fees, and regulatory frameworks change. Calculator outputs are estimates based on user inputs and should not be relied on without independent verification. Consult a qualified financial advisor and your buyer’s attorney before making decisions based on this information.
Current as of 2026-05-21. We review financial content quarterly and update on rule changes. To report an error, contact us.