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Rolly

Jan 7, 2004, 8:30 PM

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Property taxes

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One of the things that is generally much cheaper in Mexico is property taxes. Today the folks at my building project, Las Casas, got their property tax bill for the year -- $104 pesos for a new fourplex building. I live in a much humbler house in a not as nice neighborhood; my bill was $140 pesos.I'm curious what property taxes are in other cities in Mexico. Anyone want to share?

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Jan 7, 2004, 8:31 PM)

Carol Schmidt

Jan 7, 2004, 9:28 PM

Post #2 of 33 (5241 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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Did the new four-plex still have any rebar showing, so it could qualify as unfinished? I understand many people leave their houses technically unfinished so as to pay less taxes. I always wondered why so many homes that looked otherwise finished still had rebar sticking up someplace.

Otherwise, 'tis the mystery known as Mexico.

Carol Schmidt

Esteban

Jan 8, 2004, 7:44 AM

Post #3 of 33 (5217 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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Here in Mazatlan's Centro Historico, I paid 550 pesos for approx. 170 sq. meters of property/house. I'm a block from the beach.

cristalhombre

Jan 8, 2004, 6:14 PM

Post #4 of 33 (5158 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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Rolly

My experience with the property taxes. Mi casa (2 bedroom/2bath) as purchased in June 2003 for $92,500 usd. The taxes listed on the closing documents show a MX property tax of $87 usd per year. I verified this with the notary in July, as I thought this was too low.........?? He indicated that the numbers were correct.

Hope this helps.

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

Moisheh

Jan 8, 2004, 6:26 PM

Post #5 of 33 (5154 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Property taxes

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Of course you have to put everything in perspective. Yes the taxes are low but the services are limited. Where I live in Canada half of your property taxes are school taxes. Where we live in Mexico this is the not the case. About the only services we get in our town are garbage pickup and police. Maybe once a year they roundup and shoot the stray dogs. The roads and the sidewalks have not been fixed for 15 years. The street lights have been replaced and they do clean up the sand that blows in from the beach. The water dept. is not part of the Ayuntamiento and we pay about $120 a year for this service. We do not have a public sewer.

alex .

Jan 9, 2004, 11:25 AM

Post #6 of 33 (5116 views)

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Re: [Rolly] our 2 bedroom condo

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in a Tijuana neighborhood near the airport is 130 pesos annually.
Alex

Brian

Jan 9, 2004, 3:19 PM

Post #7 of 33 (5088 views)

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Re: [alex .] our 2 bedroom condo

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I paid $28 dollars last year for our place south of Playas de Tijuana...this year, we moved to San Miguel de Allende and it's $150....que diferencia!

Carianna

Jan 9, 2004, 6:53 PM

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property taxes on Cozumel

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We have a 14 meter by 48 meter lot with two large houses on it near the center of the tourist district but not on the water. Our taxes this year with the 25% discount we get on Cozumel for paying in December were around $5,000 pesos.

Carron

Jan 11, 2004, 9:28 AM

Post #9 of 33 (5009 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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When we lived in Chiapas, we owned two houses, one large and one small, on a little over an acre of land. We paid 280 per year in property taxes. Although water lines were installed while we were there, no one used them, depending instead on private well water or water trucks. Individual houses were not built with incoming lines from the street, and connecting to city service would have meant digging up floors to install. Much easier just to use existing cisternas. Police were primarily supported by the "cargo" we paid each December (a "voluntary" amount collected by the village elders) and other fund raising projects during the year, such as paying pesos to "elect" a pretty Miss Copoya!

Don

Jan 11, 2004, 1:17 PM

Post #10 of 33 (4977 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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We haven't paid taxes yet this year, but property tax for our primary residence the last time around was $367.89 pesos. Original tax was $735.78 pesos, but received a 50% senior citizen discount.

Our yearly water bill for the same year was $281.00 pesos, after given a 50 % senior citizen discount.

(This post was edited by Don on Jan 11, 2004, 1:19 PM)

barmarr

Jan 23, 2010, 6:31 PM

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Re: [Don] Property taxes- Disappointed

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Hound Dog

Jan 23, 2010, 8:04 PM

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Re: [barmarr] Property taxes- Disappointed

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We got our INA Senior Card and was very disappointed when we went to pay our annual property taxes and yearly water bill.
We live in Bucerias, Nayarit, therefore have to have a fiducierary, I was told NO discount was allowed because the name of the property owner is Banco de Bahia.

That´s just an excuse on their part, barmarr. In places such as Bucerias and Chapala, foreign seniors do not get the discount because there are no many of them the municipalities simply discriminate against them and charge the full property tax burden which is so low from the perspectives of foreign NOBBERS that they get away with it but I believe this discriminatory charge is probably illegal under Mexican law. In Chapala we just paid our property taxes and got no discount. In San Cristóbal de Las Casas where there are few foreign property owners, we got a major discount because we hold the senior card. After receiving the 50% senior discount in San Cristóbal, our annual property tax for 2010 came to the equivalent of about $25USD. The tax bil in Chapala was about the equivalent of $140USD per annum with no discount. If Chapala were being fair, the Chapala tax bill would have been about the equivalent of $70USD.

After paying exhorbitant property taxes in California for over 30 years and receiving very little directly in return, I have no complaints.

The same thing applies to the annual water bill. No discount in Chapala, a major discount in San Cristóbal.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Jan 23, 2010, 8:08 PM)

esperanza

Jan 24, 2010, 9:54 AM

Post #13 of 33 (4651 views)

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Re: [barmarr] Property taxes- Disappointed

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In Reply To

...We got our INA Senior Card...

The entity that issues the senior cards is INAPAM...Instituto Nacional de las Personas Adultos Mayores. The card is called INAPAM, although it is usually called by its prior name, INSEN.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

bammazmx

Jan 24, 2010, 9:15 PM

Post #14 of 33 (4583 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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My predial for my house is 820 pesos.... 369 pesos after 50% residence discount and an additional 10% discount for paying before feb 29th. that is for a small 100m2 house in the golden zone 200 meters from the beach. We are basically one of the smallest houses in the richest area of Maz.

I dont know if it is different here in maz.... but technically here the 50% discount is simply for the house being your primary residence.... if you are over 60 you get a discount of 80%. Everybody gets a 10% discount for paying before the end of FEB.

morgaine7

Jan 24, 2010, 10:11 PM

Post #15 of 33 (4573 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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(Hope you still want to know this, Rolly, since your original query was in 2004.)

La Paz: I paid 455.02 this year (discounted from 681.24) for a 225 square meter property near the city center and 500 meters from the water. The house is a small two-bedroom. I don't have a senior card, but the Municipio gives us 10-30% off for paying early (amount depends on how early). This year they offered an extra 5% to all who paid in November, so I got the whole 35%.

Kate

barmarr

Jan 24, 2010, 10:35 PM

Post #16 of 33 (4564 views)

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Re: [morgaine7] Property taxes

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Thanks to all who replied. I had no idea we could pay our taxes in November or December. Is that true for all areas of Mexico?
I live in Bucerias, Nayarit.

I am really not complaining, our taxes are more than reasonable compared to the U.S. I guess I was just disappointed as it was the only time I have tried to use my senior card.

sparks

Jan 25, 2010, 5:51 AM

Post #17 of 33 (4542 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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My Ejido property in Melaque is $100 per lot ... house or not. The water bill is about the same with a discount if paid in January

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

jerezano

Jan 25, 2010, 6:06 AM

Post #18 of 33 (4537 views)

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Re: [barmarr] Property taxes

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Hello all,

Somebody asked:>>>Thanks to all who replied. I had no idea we could pay our taxes in November or December. Is that true for all areas of Mexico?
I live in Bucerias, Nayarit.<<<<

No, it isnot true for all areas of Mexico.

Here in Jerez, Zacatecas I tried to pay my annual property taxes (predial) in November of 2009 and was told I had to wait until March of 2010.

Hasta luego. jerezano.

ken_in_dfw

Jan 25, 2010, 7:56 AM

Post #19 of 33 (4511 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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Well, my property taxes here in Dallas County, Texas, USA, at today's conversion rate of 12.9 MXN to the 1 USD is $50,964 MXN. And I get NO discount, early, aged, or not.

Have I mentioned that I hate you all? ;-p

Just kidding...

lostinmex

Jan 25, 2010, 7:59 AM

Post #20 of 33 (4509 views)

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Re: [ken_in_dfw] Property taxes

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My understanding is that Texas property taxes are high because you have no state income tax.

But as we say, "there is no such thing as a free lunch",or "barato es caro". We pay maybe US200 dollars in property taxes in Guadalajara-but next time you visit,check out the quality of our infrastructure,or police/fire services,or all the other things you pay for with your taxes in Texas.

Ustlach

Jan 26, 2010, 1:28 PM

Post #21 of 33 (4408 views)

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Re: [lostinmex] Property taxes

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I think that is an excellent point, LostinMex. I am astounded at how low my property taxes are here compared to the last place I paid property taxes in the USA. A small Midwest town with excellent quality of life, in part because of the taxes and the services they paid for. There was no industrial tax base there at all. It was all financed by local property taxes, or similar.

For much the same reason that I cannot bring myself to join IMSS and add to the burdens that system is already struggling with, I cannot in good conscience apply for any further discounts on my property taxes here in Mexico.

I have a tiny house here in Hermosillo, Sonora. Lot: 140 sq. meters; living area: 97.54 square meters. My taxes this year with 10% discount for paying before 1 March, 683 pesos. The house is barely two years old in one of the newest parts of town, in a nice, walled, gated residencial. My partner says it is a slightly upper-middle class neighborhood. Lots of professionals and civil servants and newer cars.

I would happily pay 10 times as much, 20 times, if we could get some law enforcement in my neighborhood. I always assumed there were no laws to deal with the complaints I have about various activities and behaviors in this neighborhood, but my Mexican partner assures me the laws exist but have never been enforced and never will be. I did see the Water Gestapo give my neighbor a ticket for washing his car. I drew a quick lesson from the experience.

When the PAN recently took over the Sonora state and Hermosillo city government after many years of PRI governance, we are starting to see some changes: people getting tickets for speeding and running red lights and stop signs. There is apparenly also a crack down on vendors and entertainers who block/hinder traffic and people who use cell phones while driving. In this one can find dim hope for continued improvement.

lostinmex

Jan 26, 2010, 1:41 PM

Post #22 of 33 (4407 views)

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Re: [Ustlach] Property taxes

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It's refreshing to see someone agree with me for a change. thanks

tonynico

Jan 26, 2010, 2:23 PM

Post #23 of 33 (4391 views)

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Re: [Rolly] Property taxes

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Is the senior card nation wide and how old do you have to be to get one?
and another question is if the fide is under two peoples names and one is a senior and one is not could the senior get the card and pay the tax at a discount?
Tony

bournemouth

Jan 26, 2010, 2:51 PM

Post #24 of 33 (4378 views)

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Re: [tonynico] Property taxes

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In at least one location, the tax people have said that the Bank holding the fidiecomiso is the actual owner of the property, and therefore no discount can be given.

Our taxes are so low where we are, that I regard the 50% we possibly could get reduced from the tax, as my contribution to the municipality.

morgaine7

Jan 26, 2010, 5:17 PM

Post #25 of 33 (4352 views)

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Re: [barmarr] Property taxes- Disappointed

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Quote

We live in Bucerias, Nayarit, therefore have to have a fiducierary, I was told NO discount was allowed because the name of the property owner is Banco de Bahia.

Are you saying that your property tax bill is in the name of the bank? Just curious, because I also have a fideicomiso, but the property tax bill is in my name. I'm in La Paz, BCS.

It's interesting to note the regional differences. Our water bills are monthly (electricity is bimonthly).

Kate

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