What Mexican property costs you in tax, year by year.
Mexican taxes on foreign-owned property break into three buckets: one-time taxes at closing (ISAI), annual carrying taxes (predial), and event-driven taxes on rental income or sale (ISR). Each one interacts with your home-country return through a foreign-tax-credit framework most buyers don't hear about until April. Below is the full coverage we publish today.
Taxes for American buyers in Mexico
How the IRS layer sits on top of Mexican ownership: Form 1116 for foreign tax credits, Schedule E for rental income, FBAR if you hold a Mexican bank account, and how ISR-on-sale gets reconciled.
Taxes for Canadian buyers in Mexico
T1135 reporting on the property itself, T776 for rental income, T2209 for foreign tax credits, and how the principal-residence framework treats a Mexican second home.
Mexico closing costs: ISAI and the rest
ISAI is the state acquisition tax — typically 2–4.5% depending on state. The single largest tax line at closing for any foreign buyer.
Calculator: predial (annual property tax) by state
What you’ll pay annually on a Mexican property. Yucatán is among the lowest, Cabo among the higher.
Short-term rental rules and the 25% non-resident ISR
How Mexico taxes rental income from STR property owned by non-residents, what the Quintana Roo registry requires, and the resident-vs-non-resident election that changes your effective rate.
Tracking capital improvements to reduce ISR at sale
Every receipt you save lowers the gain when you sell. The mechanics of building a capital-improvements binder a Mexican accountant will use.
The Mexican will (testamento) and estate-tax framework
No Mexican federal estate tax, but the process without a Mexican will is slow and expensive. How the inheritance side works.
One market read, one process explainer, one number to know.
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