Compendium · Americas · Mexico
Mexico: IVA on digital services
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Not supported by the free-threshold API · Local term: IVA
Last verified: 2026-10-29
Foreign providers without a Mexican establishment that supply covered digital services to recipients in Mexico must register in the SAT RFC within 30 days of the first Mexican sale, appoint a Mexican legal representative and Mexican address, charge 16% IVA, and file/pay monthly by the 17th of the following month
Not supported by the free-threshold API: why
No free threshold for foreign digital services
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Open a public correction issue on Gitea (sign in or create an account). The form is prefilled with this page’s URL and a short template, and asks for the correction label. Accepted corrections become a reviewed diff on the rules dataset — rule fixes belong in botchannels-app, not a silent change on this site.
Threshold and rates (IVA)
- Free threshold?
- No — No free threshold for foreign digital services
- Amount / measure
- MXN 0
No free threshold — register within 30 days of the first supply of covered digital services to recipients in Mexico (LIVA Art. 18-D) - Window
- From first Mexican digital-service supply
- Standard rate
- 16.0%
IVA 16% on covered digital services to recipients in Mexico (SAT / LIVA) - Who must register
- Foreign residents without a Mexican establishment providing digital services covered by LIVA Art. 18-B/18-D to recipients in Mexico. Platforms that withhold IVA may relieve the underlying provider of some obligations
- Evidence of location
- SAT digital-services rules tax services when the recipient is in Mexico (e.g. payment from a Mexican IP / Mexican payment method / Mexican address indicators under the statute's location tests). Keep the location indicators your systems use. Exact wording of each statutory presumption should be read from LIVA / Reglamento as of 2026-10-29
- Invoicing
- Charge IVA separately at 16% on amounts collected; follow SAT rules for digital-service providers' CFDI / disclosures where applicable
- Filing
- Calculate IVA on amounts actually collected each calendar month; file and pay electronically by the 17th of the following month. Also file the monthly information return on transaction counts/types. Currency: MXN
- Effective
- Digital-services IVA regime for non-residents (LIVA Art. 18-D et seq.)
- Authority
- Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT)
What Botchannels returns
- Ruleset version
2026-10-22.v1- Decision summary
- Botchannels does not open free-threshold sales here. Register (or appoint a representative) before selling.
- Product class
- Digital service
- Support status
- Not supported by the free-threshold API — No free threshold for foreign digital services
How to register
- Self-register online?
- No — RFC enrolment for foreign digital-service providers under LIVA Art. 18-D requires a Mexican legal representative, a Mexican address for notifications, and e.firma — not a pure self-service foreign portal comparable to Chile Portal IVA Digital
- Resident representative / fiscal agent
- Mandatory — Mexican legal representative and Mexican address for notifications (LIVA Art. 18-D)
- Regime
- SAT RFC registration for foreign digital-service providers (LIVA Art. 18-D). No general turnover threshold — register within 30 days of the first Mexican sale
Steps (in order)
- Confirm the service is a covered digital service to a recipient in Mexico
- Within 30 days of the first Mexican sale: appoint a Mexican legal representative, designate a Mexican address to hear notifications, and start RFC enrolment / e.firma as SAT requires — https://www.sat.gob.mx/
- Complete RFC registration with foreign company documents and representative appointment
- Charge 16% IVA; file/pay monthly by the 17th; file the monthly information return. SAT publishes the registered foreign-provider list periodically
Documents
- Mexican legal representative appointment — Mandatory under Art. 18-D
- Mexican address for notifications — Domicile to hear official notices
- Foreign company documents for RFC enrolment — Incorporation / ID as SAT checklist requires; apostille and Spanish translation commonly needed
- e.firma credentials — Advanced electronic signature as required by SAT
- Official processing time
- SAT does not publish a single English service-level time for foreign digital-provider RFC / e.firma onboarding on the pages reviewed as of 2026-10-29; timing varies
- Official fees
- SAT fee schedule for e.firma / RFC acts applies where charged; representative and translation costs are commercial
- Portal
- https://www.sat.gob.mx/
- Local bank account
- Payment is made to SAT in MXN; a full Mexican operating account is not the core statutory ask beyond payment capability as of 2026-10-29
- Filing frequency
- Monthly IVA return and payment by the 17th of the following month; plus monthly information return
- Payment currency
- MXN
- Input VAT recovery
- Foreign digital-service providers under Art. 18-D generally remit output IVA; input IVA credit is restricted compared with full Mexican establishments — confirm with SAT / counsel
- Portal language
- Spanish (official)
- Penalties
- Non-registration and late IVA filing/payment attract SAT penalties and surcharges under the Federal Fiscal Code
Firms offering this service
Non-exhaustive. Not an endorsement. Links checked live on 2026-10-29; confirm current offerings, licences, and fees directly with each firm before engaging
- KPMG Mexico — Member firm
- Deloitte Mexico — Member firm
- EY Mexico — Member firm
Official sources
SAT — Plataformas / servicios digitales
LIVA Art. 18-D (secondary consolidated text)
Last verified: 2026-10-29.
FAQ
- Is there a free IVA threshold for foreign digital sellers in Mexico?
- No — register within 30 days of the first covered Mexican digital-service sale
- Is a Mexican legal representative mandatory?
- Yes, plus a Mexican address for notifications
- What rate and filing cycle?
- 16% IVA; monthly file/pay by the 17th of the following month
- Is this tax advice?
- No. This page summarises official VAT/GST rules for foreign digital sellers. It is not tax or legal advice