Furnishing a home in Los Cabos raises a practical question before the first box is packed: can you bring your own furniture, books and art into Mexico without paying import taxes? Mexican customs law says yes for residents, under a set of rules known as menaje de casa, or household goods.
The rules depend on your immigration status, the paperwork starts at a Mexican consulate before you move, and the timing is fixed by regulation. This guide sets out what the Ley Aduanera, its regulation and the 2026 customs rules say, and what the consulates ask for. It doesn’t estimate shipping costs or transit times. For your own shipment, a licensed customs broker (agente aduanal) is the person to plan it with.
Key Takeaways
- Permanent residents can bring in used household goods free of import taxes and VAT; vehicles and goods used for business are excluded.
- Temporary residents bring them in as a temporary import, which lasts as long as their residency, and can convert it to a definitive import within six months of receiving a permanent resident card.
- The list of goods must be certified by the Mexican consulate for where you lived abroad, and for permanent residents a customs broker files the import.
- Goods must travel with you or arrive within three months before or six months after you.
- “Used” means acquired at least six months before the import.
What counts as menaje de casa?
Menaje de casa is the used household property of someone moving their home to Mexico. Article 61, section VII of the Ley Aduanera exempts it from import taxes for permanent residents and for repatriated Mexican nationals, provided the goods were used during the residence abroad and the regulation’s time limits and formalities are met. Article 25 of the VAT law exempts these imports from VAT too.
Article 100 of the customs regulation defines what’s covered: used furnishings and household goods for ordinary home use, clothing, books, bookcases, and works of art or science that don’t form complete collections for exhibition. Professionals’ instruments and workers’ tools can be included, as long as they don’t add up to a complete laboratory, clinic or workshop.
Two things are left out. The exemption doesn’t cover goods you used abroad for commercial or industrial activities, and it doesn’t cover vehicles.
Who qualifies to import household goods duty-free?
It depends on whether you hold permanent or temporary residency. Both routes start from a residence status, so the visa process comes first.
| Permanent resident | Temporary resident | |
|---|---|---|
| Customs regime | Definitive import | Temporary import |
| Import taxes | Exempt (Ley Aduanera, Article 61) | None on temporary imports (Ley Aduanera, Article 104) |
| How long the goods may stay | Indefinitely | For as long as your residency lasts, including renewals |
| Later change | Not needed | Convert to definitive within six months of receiving a permanent resident card |
The conversion option comes from rule 3.3.3 of the 2026 General Foreign Trade Rules. It lets a temporary resident who later becomes a permanent resident switch the goods to a definitive import within six months of receiving the card, without presenting the goods at customs again.
Temporary residents take on obligations in exchange. Under Article 159 of the regulation, you prove your immigration status, state where you’ll live in Mexico, describe the goods, and commit to customs to return them and to report any change of address.
What goes on the list, and who certifies it?
The import rests on a declaration certified by the Mexican consulate for the place where you lived abroad. Under Article 101 of the regulation, it states your name, your address abroad, how long you lived there (at least six months), where you’ll live in Mexico, a description and quantity of the goods, and, under oath, the details of any previous household-goods import. Mexico’s customs agency, ANAM, says to get it at the consulate nearest your home abroad.
Each consulate publishes its own instructions, so check the one you’ll use. Two examples:
- The Mexican consulate in Kansas City charged USD 195 in 2026 for the certificate for foreigners, asks for a Mexican visa or permanent resident card issued no more than six months earlier, requires documents in Spanish, and wants brand, model and serial number for electronic items.
- The consulate in San Bernardino, in a 2020 presentation, notes that once it signs and seals the list, the list can’t be changed, though items left off can still be imported by paying the applicable taxes. It returns three sets so you can carry out the import through the mover and customs broker you choose.
The fee is set in law. Article 22 of the Ley Federal de Derechos puts the consular fee for certifying a household-goods list for foreigners at MXN 3,475.29. Consulates abroad charge it in local currency, which is why Kansas City’s figure is in dollars.
Take the list seriously. Because a sealed list can’t be amended, it pays to inventory everything, with serial numbers for electronics, before your consulate appointment.
How does the import work at customs?
For permanent residents, a customs broker handles the entry. ANAM’s procedure page for permanent residents says the import is filed by an agente aduanal on an A1 customs entry declaring tariff item 9804.00.01. You don’t need commercial invoices or registration in the importers’ registry, but you must prove your immigration status at the customs office where the goods are cleared.
Timing is fixed. Under Article 104 of the regulation, the exemption applies when the goods travel with you or arrive within the three months before or the six months after your arrival in Mexico. That is a legal window, not a shipping estimate, so build the move around it.
The goods also have to be used. Rule 3.3.5 of the 2026 foreign trade rules defines used goods as those shown to have been acquired at least six months before the import. Something bought new the month before you move doesn’t qualify.
Can you import household goods more than once?
Yes, with conditions. For a permanent resident, a second or later shipment soon after the first needs separate customs authorization under Article 101 of the regulation, requested through procedure 73/LA under rule 3.3.15 of the 2026 rules. The declaration you file asks about previous imports, so keep your paperwork, and ask your broker which procedure applies to your timing.
Mexican nationals returning from the United States have their own, separate procedure. A 2025 measure published in the Diario Oficial created a one-time “menaje domestico” process for them that doesn’t require a customs broker and doesn’t cover vehicles.
Does Baja California Sur’s border-region status change anything?
Its main effect is on a later move, not the original import. Baja California Sur is part of Mexico’s border region under the federal border-region decree. What that changes is a later move out of the region: Article 142 of the Ley Aduanera lets border-region residents take their used household goods to the rest of Mexico without paying the general import tax, with customs authorization, if they prove more than a year of residence in the region and that the goods were acquired at least six months earlier. That request goes through procedure 74/LA under rule 3.4.2.
For the import itself, plan around the residency-based routes above, and ask your customs broker whether anything else applies to your shipment.
A short checklist for your move
- Get your residence visa or card first; the route depends on it.
- Inventory everything, with brand, model and serial number for electronics, in the language and format your consulate asks for.
- Book the certification at the Mexican consulate for where you live, and check its own requirements and fee.
- Choose a mover and a licensed customs broker, and give them the certified sets.
- Time the shipment inside the window: three months before to six months after you arrive.
- Keep every document for the next import or a later conversion.
If you’re still at the stage of choosing a property, our guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner and the guide to the closing process in Mexico cover the purchase that comes before the move.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay import duty on my furniture when I move to Los Cabos?
Not if you qualify. Permanent residents can import used household goods free of import taxes and VAT under Mexico’s customs and VAT laws. Temporary residents bring them in as a temporary import, which pays no import taxes while their residency lasts. Goods used for business and vehicles are excluded, and items left off the certified list can be taxed.
Can I bring my car as part of my household goods?
No. Article 61 of Mexico’s Ley Aduanera states that the household-goods exemption doesn’t cover vehicles, so a car can’t travel as part of your menaje de casa. Plan it separately, and ask a licensed customs broker what applies to your vehicle before you ship anything.
How long do I have to bring my household goods to Mexico?
The goods must travel with you or arrive within the three months before or the six months after your arrival in Mexico, under Article 104 of the customs regulation. The goods also need to be used, meaning acquired at least six months before the import, under the 2026 foreign trade rules.
Do I need a customs broker for menaje de casa?
For permanent residents, yes. Mexico’s customs agency says the import is filed by a customs broker (agente aduanal) on a customs entry declaring tariff item 9804.00.01. You don’t need commercial invoices or importer registration, but you must prove your immigration status where the goods clear. The one-time procedure for Mexicans returning from the US is the exception.
Plan the paperwork before the boxes
The menaje de casa rules reward preparation: the right residence status, a complete certified list, a broker lined up and a shipment timed inside the window. If you’re planning a move to a home in Los Cabos, or still looking for one, contact our team.
Sources
- Camara de Diputados, Ley Aduanera, consolidated text, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LAdua.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Reglamento de la Ley Aduanera, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/regley/Reg_LAdua.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LIVA.pdf
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026, 27 December 2025, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5777199&fecha=27/12/2025
- Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de Mexico, household goods procedure pages, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.anam.gob.mx/residentes-permanentes-y-nacionales-repatriados-o-deportados/
- Camara de Diputados, Ley Federal de Derechos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LFD.pdf
- Consulado de Mexico en Kansas City, Menaje de casa para extranjeros 2026, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/kansascity/images/2026/MenajeCasaExtranjeros2026.pdf
- Consulado de Mexico en San Bernardino, Certificado a lista de menaje de casa, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/sanbernardino/images/Menaje.pdf
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, border-region import tax decree, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle_popup.php?codigo=5075760
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, menaje domestico guidelines for Mexicans returning from the United States, 17 July 2025, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5763297&fecha=17/07/2025
