Last updated: July 2026
Every seller asks the same question first: after taxes and fees, what actually lands in my pocket? It’s the right question — and in Mexico the answer has a few moving parts that surprise foreign owners who are used to how a sale works back home.
Here’s the plain-language version of how capital gains tax (called ISR) and selling costs work when a foreign, non-resident owner sells a home in Puerto Peñasco. Read it so you’re not caught off guard at closing, then run your own numbers on the calculator at the end.
One thing up front, and I’ll repeat it below because it matters: I’m a real estate broker, not a tax attorney or accountant. The figures here are current as of July 2026 and gathered from reputable sources, but Mexican tax rules change and every sale is different. Before you sign anything, confirm your specific numbers with a licensed Mexican notario público and a contador (tax accountant). Treat this as a map, not the final bill.
The two big buckets: your selling costs and your capital gains tax
When you sell, money comes off the top in two categories. The first is your selling costs — commission, trust cancellation, and closing items. The second is capital gains tax (ISR) on the profit. Let’s take them one at a time.
Selling costs: what comes off the top
Real estate commission. In Rocky Point this typically runs in the range of 5% to 8% of the sale price, plus 16% IVA (Mexican value-added tax) charged on the commission itself. So a commission quoted at a given percentage effectively costs a bit more once IVA is added. This is the largest single line item for most sellers, and it’s negotiable — we’ll talk through it when we set your listing.
Trust (fideicomiso) cancellation. If you hold your property in a bank trust — as most foreign owners in the coastal restricted zone do — the trust has to be closed out or transferred as part of the sale. Cancellation runs somewhere in the neighborhood of USD $1,000 to $1,500, though your bank’s exact fee schedule governs.
Notary and closing items. The sale closes at a notario público, and there are notary fees, certificates, and registry items tied to the transaction. Some of these are customarily the buyer’s cost and some the seller’s, and it’s spelled out in the contract — so who pays what is worth confirming deal by deal.
Getting current before you sell. Any unpaid predial (property tax), HOA dues, or utility balances generally have to be cleared before or at closing. Not a “tax,” exactly, but it’s real money that comes out of your proceeds, so factor it in.
Capital gains tax (ISR): the part people underestimate
This is the one that catches foreign sellers off guard, so slow down here.
When a non-resident foreigner sells Mexican real estate, the notario público calculates the capital gains tax (ISR), withholds it at closing, and pays it to the Mexican tax authority (SAT) on your behalf. You don’t get handed a bill to pay later — it comes out of the transaction. And there are generally two ways the tax can be figured:
Method 1 — a flat rate on the gross sale price. Roughly 25% of the total sale price, with no deductions. This is often the default the notario applies when the seller can’t document the original purchase price and improvements.
Method 2 — a rate on the net gain. Tax on your actual profit — sale price minus documented purchase price (adjusted for inflation), minus documented improvements and certain closing costs. For a non-resident, the top of this scale reaches about 35%, but because it’s applied only to the gain rather than the whole sale price, it very often works out to less tax than Method 1 — sometimes dramatically less.
Which method leaves you better off depends entirely on your numbers: how much the property appreciated, and how well you can document your cost basis. The notario runs both and applies what the law allows in your case.
The catch on Method 2: documentation
You generally only get the gain-based method if you can prove your numbers, and that means two things in particular:
An RFC (Mexican tax ID). Non-resident sellers typically need to be registered with the Mexican tax authority to take deductions and use the net-gain calculation. Without it, expect to fall back to the flat rate on the gross price.
Facturas for improvements. That new palapa, the remodeled kitchen, the seawall work — you can only deduct improvements you can document with official Mexican invoices (facturas) with your tax ID on them. A folder of receipts and credit-card statements from a US contractor generally won’t count. This is why I tell owners: the moment you improve the property, start collecting facturas. It can be the difference between the two methods at sale time.
A note on the primary-residence exemption. Mexico does offer a capital gains exemption on a primary residence, but it’s built for tax residents of Mexico — it requires Mexican residency, an RFC, proof the home is your primary residence, and other conditions, and it’s capped and limited to once every few years. Most foreign, non-resident owners of a Rocky Point vacation or investment property do not qualify. If you think you might — for example, if you’ve become a Mexican resident — this is exactly the kind of thing to take to a contador before you list.
Put your own numbers in
Every one of these figures moves with your specific sale — your price, your basis, your documentation, your trust. Rather than guess, plug your numbers into the seller net-proceeds and capital-gains calculator to get a working estimate of what you’d actually walk away with:
Estimate your net proceeds: Rocky Point Seller Net-Proceeds & Capital-Gains Calculator
It’s a planning tool, not a closing statement — but it’ll get you in the right ballpark and show you where the big costs land. Once you’ve run it, send me your address and I’ll help you sanity-check the assumptions against what’s actually selling in your area.
How to protect your net before you ever list
A few things you can do early that genuinely affect your bottom line:
Gather your paperwork now — your fideicomiso/escritura, your original purchase closing documents, and every improvement factura you can find. Get (or confirm) your RFC if you don’t have one. Stay current on predial, HOA, and utilities. And if you’ll be out of the country for closing, plan for a power of attorney so a signature 1,500 miles away doesn’t stall your deal.
Do this before we list, and by the time an offer comes in you’re positioned to use the lower-tax method instead of defaulting to the higher one.
The bottom line
Your net isn’t the sale price minus commission — it’s the sale price minus commission, trust cancellation, closing items, any balances owed, and capital gains tax (ISR), which for a non-resident is often the biggest variable of all. The good news: with an RFC and your improvement facturas in hand, many sellers land on the gain-based method and keep meaningfully more of their profit. The owners who get surprised are usually the ones who never gathered the documentation.
Want to keep more of your sale? Book a meeting with me and we’ll walk through your numbers, your documentation, and how to position your sale for the lower-tax method — so more of the gain stays with you. No pressure, no obligation.
A reminder: I’m a licensed real estate broker in Puerto Peñasco, not a tax attorney or accountant, and this article is general information — not tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax rates and rules in Mexico change, and your situation is unique. Before making any decision or relying on any figure here, confirm the specifics of your sale with a licensed Mexican notario público and a contador (tax accountant). I’m glad to point you to professionals I trust.
Joseph Sanchez is an AMPI-certified real estate agent with RE/MAX Legacy and the developer of Viviente at Sandy Beach. He serves as president of Rocky Point Home Builders and is a proud U.S. Veteran. Originally from Chicago and a Southern Illinois University at Carbondale alumnus, Joseph now resides full-time in Puerto Peñasco with his wife and three children for over 15 years. For more information email rockypointrealestate911@gmail.com.