Legal Landscapes: Mexico – Tax
An overview of Mexico’s tax landscape in 2026, including enhanced tax enforcement powers, investment incentives, and key opportunities and risks for businesses.
Our partners Alejandro Torres and Luis Enrique Torres, together with associate Diego Benítez, authored “Legal Landscapes: Mexico – Tax”, a contribution published by The Legal 500 examining key developments in Mexico’s tax landscape throughout 2026 and their implications for domestic and international businesses.
The analysis explains that, although the general Income Tax (IT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) rates have remained unchanged, Mexico’s tax framework has evolved through stronger audit and collection powers, increased digital oversight of transactions, and new tax regularization measures and investment incentives.
Key developments discussed include procedures for verifying allegedly false Digital Tax Invoices (CFDIs), information-access obligations for digital platforms, changes to tax withholding requirements and amendments to the rules governing guarantees for tax assessments. The publication also examines tax regularization and capital repatriation programs, alongside international developments concerning global minimum taxation.
The authors identify three essential recommendations for businesses: incorporating tax analysis into the initial structuring of transactions, preparing supporting documentation contemporaneously to substantiate their economic substance and tax treatment, and proactively assessing risks that may trigger audits by the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT).
The contribution also explores the outlook for the next twelve months, particularly increasingly targeted tax audits and investment opportunities arising from incentives available for certain projects, including development hubs established under Plan Mexico and in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Regarding technology, the authors discuss how data analytics and artificial intelligence can help identify tax inconsistencies, strengthen internal controls and prepare taxpayers for potential audits, while emphasizing the continued importance of specialized legal judgment.
Finally, the publication describes a matter handled by Von Wobeser y Sierra’s tax team involving the withholding regime applicable to air transportation services marketed through digital platforms. The work included developing a technical position and discussing it with the tax authorities, ultimately contributing to the introduction of Rule 9.1.24 into the 2026 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution, which provides for circumstances in which digital platforms may refrain from making certain withholdings, subject to applicable conditions and requirements.
Read the full publication in The Legal 500.
