Operating a Mexican company is more labor-intensive than operating a U.S. company, mainly because of the monthly and annual tax filings that must be prepared and filed for income tax, value added tax, labor tax, and withholding tax.  

Businesses considering forming a Mexican company should budget for these operational costs of before forming the company.  Since the cost to outsource tax and bookkeeping management can range from US$2,000-$4,000 per month, it can be more economical in some cases for the compamy to employ an accountant to handle routine tax filings and bookeeping functions.

Below is a list of the main ongoing operational requirements for a Mexican company.

  1. Prepare monthly and annual value added tax reports and deliver them to the Mexican Tax Administration Service (SAT).
  2. Prepare monthly and annual income tax returns and pay taxes to SAT.
  3. Prepare withholding tax reports and deliver them to SAT.
  4. Pay labor taxes and contributions to SAT.
  5. Prepare annual report for the National Registry of Foreign Investments (RNIE) (for companies owned by non-Mexicans).
  6. Prepare quarterly informational reports to be filed with the RNIE indicating the company’s income and expenses if: (i) the shareholders make contributions to or withdraws from the company’s variable capital that do not affect the company’s fixed capital; or (ii) the company has retained profits during any preceding fiscal year and it disposes of such retained profits or any accumulated profits; or (iii) the company makes a loan to any related third party.  Even if one or more of the foregoing circumstances have occurred, no report must be filed unless the total income or expenses of the company during a given quarter exceeds three thousand times the General Minimum Wage (daily) in force in the Federal District (if the company is formed in the Federal District), which is approximately MX$50).
  7. Prepare and formalize annual shareholder meeting minutes (which, among other requirements, must inform the shareholders of the company that the company has complied with all tax obligations).
  8. Obtain/renew (annually) FM-3 visas for non-Mexican nationals who manage or are employed by the company in Mexico.
  9. Deliver (annually) a list of all shareholders, including address, country of tax residence and taxpayer identification number to the Federal Taxpayers’ Registry.
  10. Prepare and file annual registration with the Mexican Business Information System (SIEM).