Individual Income Declaration Mexico (Declaración de Ingresos Persona Física)

An Individual Income Declaration Mexico (Declaración de Ingresos Persona Física) is the formal annual tax return document filed by Mexican resident individuals (personas físicas con residencia fiscal en México) with the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT), disclosing all income (ingresos acumulables) received during the calendar year from all sources, claiming applicable personal deductions (deducciones personales), and calculating the final income tax (ISR — Impuesto sobre la Renta) liability or refund balance for the fiscal year, as mandated by the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR) Articles 150 through 152.

The Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 11 December 2013 and currently in force with annual amendments, is the primary statute governing income tax for both individuals (personas físicas) and legal entities (personas morales) in Mexico. Article 1 LISR establishes that Mexican residents (residentes en territorio nacional) are subject to ISR on their worldwide income (ingresos en efectivo, en bienes, en crédito, en servicios o de cualquier otro tipo). Article 90 LISR establishes the general obligation for individuals to accumulate all income and calculate annual ISR.

Article 150 LISR establishes the obligation for individuals to file an annual income tax return (declaración anual) for each fiscal year, covering the period from 1 January to 31 December. Under the SAT's administrative rules (Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal — RMF), the annual declaración must be filed electronically through the SAT's portal (sat.gob.mx) using the DeclaraSAT or SAT ID platform by 30 April of the following year for individuals. Article 151 LISR enumerates the personal deductions (deducciones personales) that individuals may subtract from their annual income: medical and dental expenses (honorarios médicos y hospitalarios); school transportation expenses; funeral expenses (gastos funerales); charitable donations (donativos) to authorized institutions (donatarias autorizadas); mortgage interest (intereses reales por créditos hipotecarios); mandatory pension contributions (aportaciones complementarias al Afore); and insurance premiums (primas de seguros médicos).

Article 152 LISR establishes the progressive ISR rate schedule (tarifa del ISR) for individuals, ranging from 1.92% on annual income up to $7,735 MXN to 35% on annual income exceeding $3,498,600 MXN. The tarifa is updated annually by the SAT in the RMF. The declaración anual reconciles the provisional ISR payments (pagos provisionales) made monthly throughout the year with the final annual tax liability — resulting in either a balance due (saldo a cargo) payable to the SAT or a refund (saldo a favor) claimable through the SAT's devolution system.

The SAT (Servicio de Administración Tributaria), an autonomous tax authority created by the Ley del Servicio de Administración Tributaria published in the DOF on 15 December 1995, administers ISR collection, conducts tax audits (visitas domiciliarias) under CFF Articles 42 through 67, and processes both annual declarations and amended returns (declaraciones complementarias). Non-compliance with Article 150 LISR triggers fines (multas) under CFF Article 82 and may result in a tax omission audit (revisión de gabinete o de escritorio) by the SAT.

For wage earners (asalariados) whose sole income is salary (sueldos y salarios) from a single employer who has performed the annual liquidation (ajuste anual por salarios), the filing obligation under Article 150 LISR may be dispensed — but individuals with additional income sources (actividad empresarial, honorarios, arrendamiento, intereses, dividendos, enajenación de bienes, premios) are always required to file. The declaración anual is also required when the individual has income from foreign sources (ingresos del extranjero) or wishes to claim a refund of excess withholding.

An Individual Income Declaration Mexico is required whenever a Mexican resident individual (persona física con residencia fiscal en México) falls within any of the mandatory filing categories established by LISR Article 150 and the RMF annual rules issued by the SAT.

The declaración is required when the individual has received income from professional services (honorarios profesionales) — fees paid to doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, and other independent professionals (personas físicas con actividad empresarial y profesional) — which are subject to bi-monthly or monthly provisional ISR payments and an annual reconciliation declaration.

The declaration is mandatory when the individual received rental income (ingresos por arrendamiento) from leasing real property (bienes inmuebles) — apartments, commercial premises, land — under LISR Chapter III of Title IV. Landlords must file monthly provisional ISR returns and an annual declaration.

A declaración is required when the individual received interest income (ingresos por intereses) from sources other than the Mexican financial system — such as interest on loans to related parties, foreign bank accounts, or private lending arrangements — under LISR Chapter VI of Title IV. Interest from Mexican banks is subject to definitive withholding and generally does not require separate annual declaration, but the amount must still be reported.

The document is necessary when the individual received dividend income (ingresos por dividendos) from Mexican or foreign corporations — under LISR Article 140, dividends paid by Mexican companies are subject to 10% ISR withholding, with the receiving individual required to report total dividend income in the annual declaration.

The declaration is mandatory when the individual had income from the sale of real property (enajenación de bienes inmuebles) or shares (acciones) — capital gains are calculated under LISR Articles 119 through 128 and must be reported in the annual declaration, with the notary (notario público) or stockbroker (casa de bolsa) having made provisional ISR retentions at the time of the transaction.

Financial institutions — bancos, casas de bolsa, AFORES, SOFOM — require a copy of the most recent declaración anual as part of their KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) processes under the Ley Federal para la Prevención e Identificación de Operaciones con Recursos de Procedencia Ilícita (LFPIORPI). Mortgage lenders require the declaración to verify income and creditworthiness. Courts and Notaries Públicos may require the declaración in real estate transactions involving individuals.

A complete Individual Income Declaration Mexico under LISR Articles 150 through 152 and SAT administrative rules must include the following components:

Taxpayer Identification: The individual's full legal name (nombre completo), RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes assigned by the SAT), CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población issued by RENAPO), tax domicile (domicilio fiscal), and e.firma (electronic signature) or Contraseña (SAT password) credentials required to file through the SAT's electronic portal. RFC format for individuals is 4 letters + 6-digit birthdate + 3 alphanumeric characters.

Fiscal Year Covered: The calendar year (ejercicio fiscal) to which the declaration corresponds — 1 January through 31 December of the year in question. Declarations must be filed by 30 April of the following year under LISR Article 150 and RMF annual calendar.

Income Sources and Amounts (Ingresos Acumulables): All income received during the fiscal year must be declared by category (Chapter): sueldos y salarios (wages — Chapter I); actividad empresarial y profesional (business/professional income — Chapter II); arrendamiento (rental income — Chapter III); enajenación de bienes (capital gains — Chapter IV); adquisición de bienes (acquisitions — Chapter V); intereses (interest — Chapter VI); dividendos (dividends — Chapter VIII); and demás ingresos (other income — Chapter IX). Each category has specific deductible expenses.

Personal Deductions (Deducciones Personales under LISR Article 151): Honorarios médicos, dentales y hospitalarios (medical fees); Gastos hospitalarios y de análisis clínicos (hospital and laboratory expenses); Gastos funerales del cónyuge, padres e hijos; Donativos a instituciones donatarias autorizadas por el SAT (limited to 7% of prior year income); Intereses reales pagados por créditos hipotecarios de casa habitación (real mortgage interest); Aportaciones voluntarias a la cuenta de retiro (AFORE contributions); Primas de seguros de gastos médicos mayores; Transporte escolar de hijos (mandatory if school charges it); and Pagos de colegiaturas (tuition — capped by SAT annually by school level).

ISR Tariff Calculation (LISR Article 152): The annual taxable base (base gravable) is calculated as total accumulated income minus personal deductions. The applicable ISR is calculated using the tarifa del ISR — a progressive rate schedule with 11 brackets ranging from 1.92% to 35%. The tax payable equals the marginal rate applied to the excess of the taxable base over the lower limit (límite inferior) of the applicable bracket, plus the fixed cuota (base tax for that bracket).

Credit for Wages Tax Deducted (Subsidio al Empleo): Wage earners below a certain income threshold are entitled to the Subsidio al Empleo — a credit that reduces the ISR payable, governed by the Decreto de Subsidio al Empleo. The employer applies the subsidy monthly; the annual declaration reconciles total subsidy applied.

Provisional Payments and Withholdings (Pagos Provisionales y Retenciones): The declaration credits all ISR provisional payments made monthly throughout the year (pagos provisionales de actividad empresarial or honorarios) and all ISR withheld by employers, financial institutions, lessees, or notaries. The difference between annual ISR calculated and credits determines the saldo a cargo (balance due) or saldo a favor (refund).

Annexes and Supporting Documentation: The SAT's electronic system pre-fills many fields from third-party reporting (CFDI invoices, bank withholding reports). The individual must review and supplement with income not reported by third parties. Supporting documentation (comprobantes fiscales digitales — CFDI) must be retained for 5 years under CFF Article 30 for potential SAT audit.

Forms-legal.com provides this Individual Income Declaration Mexico template as a reference document for understanding ISR filing requirements. Actual filing must be done electronically through the SAT portal at sat.gob.mx. Individuals with complex income situations (foreign income, capital gains, business income) should engage a Contador Público Certificado (CPC) or a fiscal specialist to prepare their declaración anual and ensure compliance with current RMF rules.