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Mexico: how residence and citizenship work

Residence tests, reporting duties, social security, living base and citizenship for Mexico, with the official source for each.

Short answer

Mexico taxes its tax residents on all income wherever the source, and taxes people resident abroad only on Mexican-source income or income attributable to a Mexican permanent establishment. Residence for individuals is set in the Federal Tax Code (article 9) and starts from where the person has established a home (casa habitaci贸n), with a centre of vital interests test used alongside it.

Key facts

Tax basisResidence-based
Tax yearCalendar year (a帽o de calendario)
Taxes citizens abroadNot as a general rule
Residence tests recorded2
RegionNorth America

How Mexico decides tax residence

Each test is recorded separately with its own ID. Meeting or missing one test does not settle residence on its own.

MX-RES-01Ties testNot professionally reviewed

Home in Mexico (casa habitaci贸n) and centre of vital interests

The Federal Tax Code (C贸digo Fiscal de la Federaci贸n, article 9, fraction I, subparagraph a) treats individuals who have established their home in Mexico as residents. The Code's regulation (article 5) adds that people who only stay temporarily in property used for tourism, and whose centre of vital interests is not in Mexico, have not established a home there. The full article 9 text, including its vital-interests criteria and any presumption for Mexican nationals, should be read in the current official version of the Code.

Source: Reglamento del C贸digo Fiscal de la Federaci贸n, art铆culo 5 (DOF 2 April 2014)Effective: Regulation published 2 April 2014Checked: November 8, 2026
MX-RES-02Ties testNot professionally reviewed

Treaty tie-breaker when two countries treat a person as resident

Mexico's income tax treaties set tie-breaker rules for people resident in both countries under domestic law. In the treaty with Panama, for example, the person is resident only where they have a permanent home available; if they have one in both or neither, the country of closer personal and economic relations (centre of vital interests) decides, followed by further tests. Each treaty must be checked on its own terms.

Source: Convenio Panam谩鈥揗茅xico para evitar la doble imposici贸n, art铆culo 4 (Ley 24 de 31 de marzo de 2010, Panam谩)Checked: November 8, 2026

Arriving, leaving and part years

As published in 2013, article 90 of the Income Tax Law says individuals who change their residence to another country during a calendar year treat their provisional payments as the final tax and cannot file an annual return. Check the current consolidated text and SAT guidance for the notice that must be given when tax residence changes. Relates to MX-RES-01.

Reporting duties to check

  • Annual return (declaraci贸n anual). Article 150 of the Income Tax Law requires individuals with income in a calendar year, apart from exempt income and income already taxed definitively, to pay their annual tax by a return filed in April of the following year, with some exceptions for people with only salary and limited interest income. Source
  • Loans, gifts and prizes in the annual return. As published in 2013, article 90 of the Income Tax Law requires resident individuals to report loans, gifts and prizes received in the year in the annual return when they pass a set amount. Check the current amount and form with the SAT. Source

Social security

Mexico appears on the CRA's list of countries with a social security agreement with Canada; check the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social and each agreement for coverage and terms.

Living base

Foreign nationals live in Mexico under temporary residence (residente temporal) or permanent residence (residente permanente). Mexican consulates list bases such as economic solvency, family unit, real estate in Mexico and investment for temporary residence, and retirement or pension, family unit and a points system for permanent residence, with the residence card issued by the Instituto Nacional de Migraci贸n after entry. A residence card does not decide tax residence, which follows the Federal Tax Code tests.

How visas, permits and tax residence differ

Citizenship

Mexican nationality can be acquired by birth or by naturalization through a carta de naturalizaci贸n issued by the Secretar铆a de Relaciones Exteriores, with routes based on residence, marriage to a Mexican national and origin in a Latin American or Iberian country. The residence periods and any rules on keeping a prior nationality were not verified from an official page for this record; check the current SRE requirements.

Read the citizenship guide

Questions to take to a professional

  1. Where is my casa habitaci贸n for Mexican tax purposes if I keep homes in more than one country?
  2. How would the centre of vital interests criteria in article 9 of the Federal Tax Code apply to my income and professional activity?
  3. If I am a Mexican national living abroad, what does the current Code say about proving residence elsewhere?
  4. What notice must I give the SAT when my tax residence changes, and when is it due?
  5. How would the tie-breaker article of the relevant tax treaty apply to me if another country also treats me as resident?
  6. Which of my foreign-source income items must be declared in my Mexican annual return as a resident?
  7. Does my residence card category affect any of my tax or social security obligations?

Official authorities

Sources

Other countries in North America

馃嚚馃嚘 Canada馃嚭馃嚫 United States
Countries covered
Mexico
Sources
5 sources listed above
Tax year
Current rules as checked
Review
Not professionally reviewed
Sources checked November 8, 2026