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Origin and trade agreements

Importing into Mexico

Mexico's courier global rates (free to US$50, 17%, 19%, 33.5%), the US$50 postal exemption, the 2026 tariff rise for non-FTA countries and seller IDs.

Updated · 6 official sources

Mexico taxes most courier parcels with a single global rate that replaces duty and VAT: 33.5% of the value for parcels from most countries, and for parcels from the United States or Canada nothing up to US$50, 17% from US$50 to US$117 and 19% above that. By post, parcels up to US$50 are free from any country, and parcels up to US$1,000 pay a 19% global rate.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

How does Mexico tax courier parcels?#

Mexico taxes courier parcels through a simplified procedure that authorized courier and parcel companies use for shipments with a customs value of up to US$2,500 per recipient. Instead of working out duty and VAT line by line, the courier applies one global rate (tasa global) to the value, set by rule 3.7.35 of the 2026 General Foreign Trade Rules (RGCE).

Where the parcel ships from Customs value Global rate
United States or Canada Up to US$50 No duty or VAT; the fixed customs processing fee (DTA) is paid
United States or Canada US$50.01 to US$117 17%
United States or Canada Over US$117 19%
Any other country Up to US$2,500 33.5%

The USMCA bands apply to parcels coming from a party to the agreement, and each band needs an air waybill or bill of lading showing a value within it. All three USMCA bands also need goods that aren't subject to non-tariff regulations such as permits or Mexican standards (NOMs). Alcohol and tobacco never use these rates: they have their own global rates, from 77% for drinks up to 14% alcohol to 691% for cigarettes from countries without a trade agreement.

Parcel thresholds in North America

Country Duty-free up to Tax-free up to Currency Value counted Official source
Mexico 50 50 USD customs value anam.gob.mx
United States USD goods federalregister.gov
Canada 20 20 CAD customs value cbsa-asfc.gc.ca

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-14

How does Mexico tax postal parcels?#

Mexico taxes postal parcels under rule 3.7.2 of the RGCE, and the postal exemption is open to every origin. Parcels delivered by the Mexican postal service (SEPOMEX) with a customs value of US$50 or less per recipient pay no duty, VAT or customs processing fee, as long as the goods need no permits or other non-tariff compliance.

Above US$50 and up to US$1,000 per recipient, the parcel is declared on the Formulario Postal (form D1) and pays a 19% global rate, without a customs agent. Alcohol and tobacco pay their own higher rates. Goods under US$50 that owe other taxes, such as excise, also go through the form. Postal parcels over US$1,000 can't use the form.

What changed for goods from countries without a trade agreement?#

Mexico's tariff decree published in the Official Gazette (DOF) on 29 December 2025 raised import duties on 1,463 tariff lines from 1 January 2026, for goods from countries with which Mexico has no trade agreement in force. The sectors include apparel, textiles, footwear, toys, furniture, steel, aluminum, plastics, appliances, paper, glass and automotive goods.

Most of the new rates are 25% or 35%; the decree runs from 5% to 50%. Most apparel and footwear lines sit at 35%, toys at 30%, most cosmetics at 25% and passenger cars at 50%. The rates hit formal imports; goods that qualify under one of Mexico's trade agreements, such as USMCA (T-MEC), claim that agreement's rate, and courier parcels use the global rates above.

Duty on cotton sweaters (6110.20)

Country General duty National lines Preferential rates
Mexico 0
United States 5%, 16.5% 23 Yes
Canada 0

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-18

The courier rate moved too. The fourth amendment to the 2025 RGCE, published in the DOF on 28 July 2025, set the global rate for parcels from outside USMCA at 33.5% from 15 August 2025, and added the 19% band for USMCA parcels over US$117.

What does a US$100 order pay?#

A US$100 order to Mexico pays a different amount depending on the route, because the courier rate turns on where the parcel ships from. These figures use the global rates in force on 30 October 2026, before any carrier fees, and assume the goods need no permits or Mexican standards.

Route Rate Charge on US$100
Courier from a US warehouse 17% US$17.00
Courier from China 33.5% US$33.50
Post from any country 19% US$19.00
Courier from the US, order of US$45 Exempt DTA fee only

Splitting an order to stay under US$50 doesn't work: the RGCE excludes shipments that are part of a series made to avoid duties or the formal procedure. The landed cost calculator prices a Mexican order by route before you set prices, and the Mexico country page holds the live thresholds.

Who clears the parcel and which IDs are needed?#

The courier clears a parcel under the simplified procedure by filing a customs declaration (pedimento) through a customs agent, under a generic tariff code. The recipient needn't be in Mexico's Register of Importers (Padrón de Importadores) if the courier records their name and, where they must have one, their tax ID (RFC).

Without the recipient's RFC, the courier declares its own. Over US$2,500 per recipient, or for goods that can't use the courier procedure, the import is formal: a customs agent declares each tariff line, and duty, VAT and the processing fee are worked out separately. Goods that claim USMCA or another agreement's rate need proof of origin; the USMCA guide covers the rules.

VAT on imports into Mexico

Country Tax Standard rate Since Official source
Mexico VAT 16% gob.mx

border.bot live data from each country's official publications, updated 2026-10-11

What can't go through the courier procedure?#

The RGCE keeps several kinds of goods out of the simplified courier procedure, whatever their value or quantity. Those goods need a formal import with a customs agent, or can't be imported at all. The courier also has to refuse the simplified route when the description is too vague to classify the goods.

  • Goods that need permits, certificates or Mexican standards, unless the courier transmits the documents that prove compliance (and those goods can't use the USMCA bands).
  • Powders, liquids and pharmaceutical forms such as pills, capsules and tablets that would need lab analysis to classify.
  • Electric motorcycles (tariff line 8711.60.01).
  • Parcels with no value, a zero value, or a generic description such as "gift", "courtesy" or "various articles", in any language.

Describe goods by what they are and what they're made of, and put the real price on the invoice; the commercial invoice guide shows what customs expects.

What changed and when#

Mexico's parcel rules moved twice in the past two years: the courier global rate for countries outside USMCA rose to 33.5% in August 2025, and duties on 1,463 tariff lines from countries without a trade agreement rose on 1 January 2026. The 2026 foreign trade rules set the courier and postal rates in force on 30 October 2026.

  1. Higher duties for non-agreement countries

    Duties rise on 1,463 tariff lines, mostly to 25% or 35% and up to 50%, for goods from countries without a trade agreement with Mexico. DOF, Decreto LIGIE, 29 December 2025 (opens in a new tab)

  2. 2026 foreign trade rules published

    Rules 3.7.2 and 3.7.35 set the US$50 postal exemption, the 19% postal rate and the courier global rates for 2026. DOF, RGCE 2026 (opens in a new tab)

  3. Courier global rate rises to 33.5%

    Courier parcels from outside USMCA pay 33.5%, and USMCA parcels over US$117 pay 19%. Fourth amendment to the 2025 RGCE, DOF 28 July 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Common questions#

What is the de minimis for Mexico?#

By courier, parcels from the US or Canada up to US$50 pay no duty or VAT, only a fixed processing fee. By post, parcels up to US$50 from any country pay nothing. Courier parcels from other countries pay the 33.5% global rate from the first dollar.

What is the tasa global?#

The tasa global is a single percentage of the customs value that Mexico applies to courier and postal parcels instead of calculating duty and VAT separately. It is 17% or 19% for USMCA parcels over US$50, 19% for post and 33.5% for other courier parcels.

Did Mexico raise tariffs on Chinese goods?#

Yes. From 1 January 2026, Mexico raised duties on 1,463 tariff lines for all countries without a trade agreement with Mexico, China among them, at rates of up to 50%. China isn't named; the decree covers every non-agreement country.

Do Mexican buyers need an RFC to receive a parcel?#

Not always. Under the courier procedure the courier declares the recipient's RFC when the recipient is required to have one, and its own RFC when none is given.

Sources#