Owning a Mexican-plated car means paying at least one annual charge to your state government, and often two. The Mexico vehicle registration tax comes in two parts: the refrendo, a plate-renewal fee that usually runs between 600 and 1,000 pesos, and the tenencia, an ownership tax based on the vehicle’s value that only some states still charge. Both are collected by the state where the car is registered, both fall due early in the calendar year, and skipping either can get your car towed and block you from selling it or passing emissions inspection.
Refrendo and Tenencia Are Two Different Charges
The refrendo is what you pay each year to keep your license plates valid. It is a registration renewal, priced the same for most vehicles in a given state regardless of what the car is worth. In Jalisco, the 2026 refrendo is 1,000 pesos for a car and 600 pesos for a motorcycle.1Gobierno de Jalisco. Refrendo y Verificación Increíble 2026 In Mexico City, the 2026 refrendo is 760 pesos.
The tenencia is a separate tax on ownership, calculated from the vehicle’s original invoice price and its age. This is where the bill can grow. A five-year-old SUV that cost 800,000 pesos new can owe several thousand pesos in tenencia, while an older economy car might owe nothing beyond the refrendo. About half of Mexico’s states have eliminated tenencia entirely, and in states that still charge it, on-time payment often triggers a subsidy that erases the amount owed.
Which States Still Charge Tenencia
Roughly half of Mexico’s states still collect some form of tenencia, though many soften it with subsidies or value thresholds. States that charge it in some form include Mexico City, Estado de México, Aguascalientes, Baja California, Campeche, Durango, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Querétaro, and Quintana Roo. Some apply it only above a value floor. Guerrero, for instance, charges tenencia only on vehicles worth more than 200,000 pesos.
States that have fully eliminated tenencia include Jalisco, Chihuahua, Sonora, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Morelos, and Zacatecas.1Gobierno de Jalisco. Refrendo y Verificación Increíble 2026 In those states, the refrendo is the only annual obligation. The difference can run into thousands of pesos on a higher-value vehicle, which is why some owners register cars in tenencia-free states even when they live elsewhere. That approach carries its own risk, since driving with out-of-state plates in your home state can invite scrutiny at traffic stops.
How Tenencia Is Calculated
The exact formula varies by state, but Mexico City’s method is representative. For a used vehicle, you take the original invoice value including IVA, multiply by a depreciation factor based on the car’s age, adjust for inflation, then apply a rate of 0.245 percent. The depreciation factors are:
- 1 year old: 0.900
- 2 years: 0.889
- 3 years: 0.875
- 4 years: 0.857
- 5 years: 0.833
- 6 years: 0.800
- 7 years: 0.750
- 8 years: 0.667
- 9 years or more: 0.500
For 2026 in Mexico City, vehicles with an invoice value below 638,000 pesos (including IVA) are exempt from tenencia entirely, provided the refrendo is paid by the March deadline. Vehicles above that threshold owe the calculated tenencia amount no matter when the refrendo is paid. The threshold changes annually, so a car that was exempt last year may not be this year.
The March Deadline That Decides Your Bill
The most important date on the calendar in states that charge tenencia is March 31. In Mexico City and Estado de México, paying the refrendo before that date qualifies you for a 100 percent tenencia subsidy, reducing the tax to zero as long as your vehicle sits below the value threshold. Miss it and you owe the full tenencia amount on top of the refrendo.
This is where most owners get burned. A 760-peso payment becomes a bill running several thousand pesos once the unsubsidized tenencia is added. Other states set their own deadlines and subsidy rules. Tamaulipas offers a 100 percent subsidy to owners who are current on all prior years. Some states occasionally run amnesty programs for residents behind on multiple years, but these are unpredictable and not something to plan around.
What You Need Before You Pay
Before generating a payment, you need three pieces of information linking your vehicle to the state’s fiscal database:
- The license plate number, which is the primary identifier in every state’s system.
- The Vehicle Identification Number (NIV), a 17-character alphanumeric code stamped on the vehicle. You can find it in the lower-left corner of the windshield, inside the engine compartment, on the driver’s-side door frame, or on the chassis near the front wheel.
- The tarjeta de circulación, your vehicle’s circulation card issued by the state mobility agency. It carries a folio number used to authenticate you during payment. In Mexico City, driving without a valid tarjeta de circulación can result in a fine of over 2,600 pesos and a tow.2AUTO ANCA. Cómo Tramitar la Tarjeta de Circulación en Internet
With these, go to your state’s finance portal and check for outstanding balances, called adeudos. The system shows what you owe for the current year, prior years, and unpaid traffic fines. Clear that screen before paying, because some states won’t let you renew while old debts remain on the record.
How to Pay
Once you’ve checked your balance, the portal generates a línea de captura, a unique alphanumeric code tied to your specific payment and vehicle.3Secretaría de Administración y Finanzas de la Ciudad de México. Pago de Trámites por Línea de Captura The code expires within a few days, so don’t sit on it. Payment channels include:
- The state finance portal itself, using credit card or bank transfer. Status usually updates within 48 to 72 hours.
- Authorized banks, where you present the línea de captura at a teller window. Most major Mexican banks participate.
- Convenience stores that partner with the state government. A small service fee may apply.
- State tax collection offices. In Jalisco, payments can be made at any of the state’s recaudadoras.4The Guadalajara Reporter. Paying Refrendo: Mexico’s Annual Car Tax
After paying, you receive a comprobante de pago. Keep it permanently. You will need it to sell the vehicle, to renew your tarjeta de circulación, and to prove compliance at traffic stops. If the payment doesn’t appear in the system within a few business days, the receipt is your only proof.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay
Unpaid refrendo and tenencia generate recargos, or surcharges, that grow the balance over time. The bigger risk is operational. A vehicle flagged in the system for expired registration or tax debts can be immobilized or towed to a corralón during a routine stop. Recovering the car means paying every peso of accumulated adeudos, towing fees, and daily storage charges, which can quickly outrun the original tax bill.
At the border, the stakes rise further. Mexican officials can impound vehicles with expired registration tags before they enter the country.5KRGV. Couple’s Vehicle Impounded in Mexico for Expired Tags Outstanding adeudos also block administrative steps: you cannot transfer ownership of a vehicle with unpaid taxes, which means you cannot sell it until the balance is cleared. Any buyer who checks the online adeudo record before closing will see the debt and either walk away or push for a heavy discount.
In Mexico City and the surrounding metro area, tax status is linked to the verificación vehicular, the mandatory emissions inspection. Outstanding tenencia, traffic fines, or other adeudos on your record block certain verificación processes.6Secretaría del Medio Ambiente de la Ciudad de México. Trámites de Verificación Vehicular y Hoy No Circula Without a current verificación sticker, your vehicle faces driving restrictions under the Hoy No Circula program. Miss the refrendo, fall behind on tenencia, lose your verificación, and the car becomes legally restricted from driving on certain days.
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles
Electric and hybrid vehicles have carried significant tax advantages in Mexico, and the rules are shifting. In Mexico City, fully electric and hybrid vehicles have been charged a zero-percent tenencia rate, meaning they owe nothing regardless of value. That benefit has mattered most for high-end EVs that would otherwise face steep tenencia bills.
Fiscal reforms approved for 2026 narrow the picture. Under the new rules, electric vehicles qualify for a refrendo exemption only once, at the time of initial registration. Hybrids no longer qualify for the refrendo exemption at all and pay the same annual fee as combustion cars. The tenencia exemption for EVs and hybrids in CDMX remains in place at the time of this writing, but policy is moving toward narrower benefits.
At the federal level, electric vehicles remain exempt from ISAN, the federal tax on new cars. Owners can claim income tax deductions related to EV depreciation, and electric vehicles receive discounts at toll booths on highways in Mexico City and Estado de México. The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) also offers free installation of meters for home charging stations, which keeps EV charging from pushing your household into a higher electricity tariff.
Buying a Used Car: Check the Balance First
Outstanding vehicle taxes do not disappear when a car changes hands. Buy a vehicle with three years of unpaid tenencia and refrendo, and that debt becomes yours. You will not be able to register the car in your name, complete the verificación, or resell it until every peso is cleared.
Most state finance portals let anyone look up a vehicle’s tax status with only the plate number. Run that check before agreeing on a price. If the seller has adeudos, either walk away or subtract the full amount from your offer and pay it off yourself right after purchase. A few minutes on the finance portal can save you from inheriting thousands of pesos in someone else’s tax bill.
Foreign-Plated Vehicles Are on a Different System
If you are driving a vehicle with foreign plates into Mexico, none of the above applies to you directly. Foreign-plated vehicles do not pay refrendo or tenencia because they are not in Mexico’s vehicle registry. Instead, you need a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) through Banjército, the military bank that handles border vehicle processing. Applications can be filed online 7 to 60 days before the trip, at a CIITEV border module on entry, or at certain Mexican consulates in the United States up to six months in advance.7Consulado de México en Phoenix. Foreigners Traveling to Mexico by Car
The TIP has strict rules. You cannot sell a temporarily imported vehicle in Mexico. When your authorized stay ends, you must return the vehicle across the border and cancel the permit at a CIITEV module. Failing to return the vehicle on time forfeits your deposit to the Federal Treasury and exposes the car to impoundment. Once a permit has expired without proper return, the owner cannot apply for a new one until the situation is resolved.7Consulado de México en Phoenix. Foreigners Traveling to Mexico by Car Foreigners planning to live in Mexico long-term should look into nationalizing the vehicle or buying a Mexican-plated car, since the TIP is built for temporary visits.