January 22, 2026
On November 7, several Decrees were published in the Federal Official Gazette amending the Federal Tax Code («FTC»), the Value Added Tax Law («VATL»), and the Income Tax Law («ITL»), introducing obligations of significant relevance for digital platforms.
- New VAT withholding obligations
Effective January 1, 2026, article 18-J of the VATL establishes new scenarios in which digital intermediation platforms must withhold 100% of the VAT: (i) when foreign residents, without an establishment in Mexico, sell goods, render services, or grant the temporary use or enjoyment of goods within Mexican territory; and (ii) when vendors deposit the transaction amounts into bank or deposit accounts located abroad.
Notably, the withholding obligation applicable to foreign residents does not replace the withholding obligation imposed on the purchaser, service recipient, or lessee, and the location of bank accounts is now used to determine whether withholding applies.
Under this new framework, platforms will assume joint and several liability for withholdings that are not made or that are incorrectly determined. With respect to foreign residents, platforms will be required to collect and provide the tax authorities with information regarding the identification of such vendors and their transactions. These information reporting obligations include sensitive and operational data, which raises significant challenges concerning confidentiality, cross-border compliance, and alignment of technology systems.
- New Income Tax withholding obligations
Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the income tax withholding regime applicable to income earned through digital intermediation platforms, previously reserved exclusively for individuals, is extended to legal entities.
Under this new framework, technology platforms, whether resident in Mexico or abroad, with or without a permanent establishment, must withhold 2.5% of the gross income that legal entities earn from the sale of goods or rendering of services through such platforms, without any deduction. The tax withheld may be credited against the taxpayer’s provisional payments or annual return. Legal entities will be required to provide their Federal Taxpayer Registry number to the corresponding platforms; otherwise, the withholding rate will increase to 20%.
- Permanent, online, real-time access to data
Finally, effective April 1, 2026, newly added article 30-B of the FTC imposes on all digital platforms the obligation to grant the tax authorities permanent, online, real-time access to the information necessary to verify compliance with their tax obligations. In connection with this provision, form 168/CFF, contained in Annex 2 under rule 2.9.21 of the 2026 Miscellaneous Tax Resolution, provides that platforms must file a brief to provide the tax authorities with a username and password, as well as the corresponding manuals, instructions, or guides enabling such access to their systems, on April 30, 2026, at the latest.
Failure to comply with this obligation may result in the temporary blocking of access to the digital service, pursuant to the procedure set forth in articles 18-H Bis to 18-H Quintus of the VATL.
From our perspective, there are grounds to challenge the constitutionality of these provisions through a constitutional action, particularly based on violations to the principles of legal certainty because the corresponding measures place disproportionate burdens to digital platforms, while the law has alternative means to achieve the same purposes. Additionally, there are arguments regarding incompliance with obligations set forth in the services and investment chapters of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as well as World Trade Organization rules, among other trade agreements to which Mexico is a party.
Our tax practice group remains at your disposal to conduct a specific analysis of your operations in Mexico to verify proper compliance and, where appropriate, develop a suitable defense strategy.
Sincerely,
Gerardo Nieto
Gil Zenteno
Alejandro Barrera
Sergio Barajas
Victor Barajas
Ramón de la Torre
José Miguel Tuirán