Moving to Mexico in 2026: accessible residence, cost of living and proximity to the US

Mexico taxes its residents on their worldwide income. Tax residency is assessed mainly by the location of the home — the casa habitación — and, when a person has a home in two states, by the centre of their vital interests.

The criterion is therefore not primarily a day count, unlike in most countries in the region. This difference in method matters for anyone who splits their time between two countries.

The annual scale in Article 152 of the income tax law is progressive and finely divided. Its first bracket is taxed at 1.92%³, and the top marginal rate reaches 35%⁴.

Investment income

Individuals are liable for a tax on gains from the sale of securities, at a rate of 10%⁵, considered final within the meaning of Article 129.

Corporate income tax is set at 30%⁶ of the taxable profit for the financial year.

We do not publish the Mexican regime for dividends received by an individual, nor the inheritance regime: they do not appear in the extracts of the law available to us. The treatment of dividends combines taxation at company level with an additional withholding, and it must be examined as a whole.

One point is decisive for a French national: the France–Mexico tax treaty allocates taxing rights and provides mechanisms for eliminating double taxation. A pension, French property income or a gain on securities do not follow the same rule, and the starting point must be the treaty, not the local scale.

Mexico organises stays around two statuses: temporary residence and permanent residence, the former generally preceding the latter.

Temporary residence is for foreigners wishing to settle for longer than a visitor's stay, for a maximum of up to 4 years⁷.

It requires proof of economic solvency, assessed either through regular monthly income with a reference amount of around about $4,300⁸, or through an account or investment balance with a reference equivalent value of about about $73,000⁹.

As these amounts are expressed in indexed local units, their equivalent in foreign currency changes: they must be recalculated at the date of application, not taken from an old table.

The initial application is filed with a Mexican consulate abroad, not in the country: this is a timing constraint that many discover late. The visa is then exchanged for the resident card in Mexico, within a strict deadline after entry.

The conditions for access to permanent residence, in particular through accumulated years of temporary residence or family ties, do not appear in our extracts: they must be checked with the National Migration Institute.

One practical point sets Mexico apart from many destinations: visitor status, granted on entry for a period that was long generous, is now granted at the discretion of the immigration officer, for a variable period. Building a move on this status therefore means depending on an individual decision at every entry.

Temporary residence, by contrast, offers a stable framework, gives access to a tax number and the banking system, and allows personal belongings to be imported under defined conditions. It is the route to favour once the stay exceeds a few months.

This is the country's most specific legal point. The Constitution reserves for nationals the direct ownership of land and water located in a so-called restricted zone, which runs along the coasts and borders.

Yet it is precisely in this zone that most of the properties sought by foreign buyers are located. The established solution is the fideicomiso, a bank trust through which a Mexican bank holds title on behalf of the foreign beneficiary, who retains the use, income and right to sell.

This mechanism is entirely lawful and common, but it is not free: it involves set-up fees and annual fees, and it is concluded for a fixed, renewable term. A buyer who reasons as if they were buying freehold is mistaken about the nature and cost of their right.

Outside the restricted zone, direct purchase by a foreigner is possible, subject to the applicable formalities.

We do not publish fideicomiso set-up and management fees, acquisition duties or the predial property tax: they vary by state and by bank, and we have no consolidated, dated official source.

The cost of living in Mexico is far below European levels for services, labour and local food. The gap narrows sharply in areas with a large foreign presence, where a parallel economy in foreign currency has taken hold.

We do not publish a typical monthly budget: we have not found an official Mexican series measuring a basket of spending comparable to that of an expatriate.

Three items drive a budget. Housing, where rents in the sought-after districts of Mexico City or on the Caribbean coast have risen sharply under foreign demand. Healthcare, where using the private sector is the rule for an expatriate and insurance becomes expensive with age. And security, which translates into choices of neighbourhood and sometimes of means of transport that carry a real cost.

Exchange risk is significant here: the peso has seen large swings, and a budget calculated in euros can vary considerably from one year to the next without any local price having changed.

1. File the temporary residence application with a Mexican consulate abroad, before departure;
2. recalculate the solvency thresholds at the date of application, as they are indexed;
3. exchange the visa for the resident card in Mexico, within the required time after entry;
4. obtain the RFC, the tax number, and open a local bank account;
5. for a purchase in the restricted zone, have a fideicomiso set up and cost its recurring fees.

The order is binding: the initial application cannot be filed from Mexico, and the exchange of the visa for the card is subject to a strict deadline. Slipping on either of these steps means starting the procedure again from abroad.

We do not publish processing times: they vary by consulate and immigration office, and we have no quantified, dated official source.

• Mexican tax residency rests primarily on the home and the centre of vital interests, not on a day count.
• Mexico taxes residents on their worldwide income: it is not a territorial jurisdiction.
• In the restricted zone, ownership goes through a fideicomiso: the nature of the right and its recurring fees must be understood before buying.
• The solvency thresholds are indexed: an amount read in an old guide is wrong.
• The Mexican passport gives visa-free access to about 159¹⁰: no mobility gain for a European national.

Finally, Mexico is a destination where the gap between lived experience and a reading of the texts is particularly wide. Many foreign residents live there long-term on visitor status, leaving the country periodically. This common practice is not consistent with the purpose of the status, and it leaves the resident without coherent legal or tax cover. It is not a strategy for settling.