How to Calculate Duties and Taxes on Imports to Mexico

Most courier parcels into Mexico pay a single 33.5% global rate that replaces both duty and IVA. USMCA shipments do better: nothing up to USD 50 with the DTA paid, 17% to USD 117 and 19% above. Anything outside the simplified courier procedure goes on an ordinary pedimento with IGI duty, the DTA fee and 16% IVA.

• Valuation basis: CIF
• Tax base: Value used for general import duty plus that duty and other contributions on import. Under the simplified courier procedure a single global rate replaces this.
• IVA standard rate: 16%. General rate 16%. The simplified courier procedure uses global rates that combine duty and IVA, so the general rate matters less for parcels. Border-zone treatment was not checked.
• Reduced rates: None listed

Registered courier and parcel companies clear shipments up to USD 2,500 customs value under the simplified procedure in Reglas 3.7.5 and 3.7.35. Splitting orders to stay under the limit is barred. No foreign seller registration found for goods.

• 16% and the tax base read as official-domain search excerpts of SAT pages. The current Ley del IVA PDF would not load.
• Ley Aduanera text read is an ANAM 2022 upload; Article 65(d) adds transport, insurance and related costs up to the point goods enter the country. Later amendments were not checked.
• The 2026 RGCE confirms Rule 3.7.35(I) at 33.5%. Any resolutions amending the 2026 rules after that base text were not fully reviewed.

The simplified courier procedure (pedimento key T1) is open to courier and parcel firms registered with customs. It covers up to USD 2,500 per consignee, or USD 1,000 per import for non-commercial goods under a separate standards list. Imports must travel by air or land.

The courier files one pedimento using generic tariff codes, such as 9901.00.01 00 for pieces and 9901.00.02 00 for kilos. A consignee doesn't need to be in the Padrón de Importadores if the courier records the name and RFC. The catch for businesses: imports under this procedure aren't deductible for income tax.

The ordinary route needs a pedimento through a customs agent or authorised representative, and the importer needs the Padrón de Importadores. This requires an active RFC, e.firma, tax compliance and a located fiscal address. ANAM runs customs, SAT runs tax.

On the courier route, multiply the customs value by the global rate that applies, and that's the whole contribution. Under USMCA at USD 50 or less, you pay only the DTA under Article 49, section IV of the Ley Federal de Derechos. We didn't confirm its amount, so it isn't in our sums.

On the ordinary route, the base for IGI duty is the customs value, which under Ley Aduanera Article 65 includes transport, insurance and related costs up to the point goods enter the country. So it behaves like CIF, not FOB. IVA at 16% then runs on that value plus IGI and the other import contributions.

1. Test for the courier route: is it USD 2,500 or less, by air or land, with a registered courier, a real description and a non-zero value? If not, use the ordinary route.
2. Check where it comes from: Rule 3.7.35 gives shipments coming from a USMCA country the 0%, 17% or 19% band. Shipments from CPTPP, Pacific Alliance and Mexico-Panama parties get relief only up to USD 1. Everyone else pays 33.5%.
3. Check the product: alcohol and tobacco have their own global rates, from 77% for beer and low-strength drinks to 691% for cigarettes, and lower for qualifying FTA goods.
4. On the ordinary route, classify to the tariff fraction with our HS code classifier and take the IGI rate, adding any preference under a trade agreement.
5. Add the DTA, IVA at 16% on the duty-inclusive base, and any compensatory duty. Our duty calculator gives an estimate.

A USD 80 Bluetooth speaker from Shenzhen by courier, at an illustrative USD 1 = MXN 18.50.

No separate IVA or duty.

A USD 90 toolset shipped from the US, by courier, over USD 50 and under USD 117.

A container line of kitchenware on a pedimento.

The DTA and any compensatory duty also enter the IVA base.

• Quoting USD 50 as Mexico's de minimis: it applies only to USMCA shipments on an air waybill or bill of lading, free of non-tariff restrictions, with DTA paid.
• Writing "gift" or "various articles" on the waybill: generic descriptions disqualify the shipment from the simplified procedure, and so does a zero or missing value.
• Splitting orders: a series of shipments designed to avoid duty or formal entry can't use it. Couriers must report any consignee or address with more than three imports in a calendar month.
• Using the courier route for stock: the global rate costs less paperwork, but the import isn't deductible for income tax.
• Sending lab-testable goods by courier: hard-to-identify powders, liquids and pharmaceutical forms are excluded.

The Fourth Resolution amending the 2025 General Foreign Trade Rules, in force on 15 August 2025, raised the general rate to 33.5% and added 19% for USMCA shipments above USD 117. Rule 3.7.35 in the 2026 rules keeps it. We didn't fully review later resolutions amending the 2026 base text.

We also found no registration scheme for foreign sellers of goods, so tax is collected at the border through the courier, not at checkout.

Border-zone IVA treatment wasn't checked, so don't use these figures for a border-region delivery without asking your agent. This page is guidance, not legal or customs advice, and your agente aduanal has the last word on a pedimento.