The purchase price is the number everyone negotiates. The costs that arrive every year after closing get less attention, and in Los Cabos they follow rules that differ from what many buyers know at home. Property tax here is calculated on a value the municipality sets, electricity can jump to a different tariff, and hurricane cover may not be in a policy unless you ask for it.
This guide covers the recurring costs of holding a home in Los Cabos: predial, the municipal property tax, then water, electricity and insurance. It uses the municipal tax law, the federal electricity tariff rules and insurers’ own policy conditions. It doesn’t put a single annual figure on any of them, because each depends on the property. For a specific home, the seller’s bills and the municipal account are where the real numbers come from.
Key Takeaways
- Predial is charged on the property’s cadastral value, not its purchase price, at rates set per thousand pesos of that value.
- Paying the whole year between January and April can earn a reduction of up to 20%; in 2026 the municipality set 20% for January and February and 10% for March.
- A notary can’t formalize a sale until predial is shown to be paid up.
- Sustained high electricity use moves a home onto the federal DAC tariff, which is priced far above the regular residential rate.
- Hurricane cover can be a separate coverage or add-on, so check that it’s on your policy.
What is predial, and who pays it?
Predial is the municipal tax on owning land and the permanent buildings on it, levied in Los Cabos under the Ley de Hacienda para el Municipio de Los Cabos. Property owners are directly liable for it. Anyone who becomes subject to the tax must register in the municipal cadastral roll within thirty days.
If you hold the property through a bank trust, the law addresses that directly. It names both the trust beneficiary in possession and the trustee bank as subjects of the tax. Who actually pays each bill comes down to your trust contract, so confirm the arrangement when the trust is set up.
How is predial calculated in Los Cabos?
The tax base is the property’s cadastral value, under Baja California Sur’s cadastre law. That value comes from approved unit values for land and for each type of construction, applied each calendar year, so a bill can change without any change to the house. For fiscal 2026, the municipality’s technical cadastre commission proposed raising its unit value tables by 4.32%.
The rate depends on how the property is used. Article 29 of the municipal tax law sets annual rates per thousand pesos of cadastral value:
| Urban property use | Annual rate (per thousand of cadastral value) |
|---|---|
| Not used as the owner’s own home | 3.0663 |
| Held for rent, or mixed use | 2.2997 |
| Owner-occupied home | The lowest urban rate; confirm the current figure with the municipal treasury |
| Vacant urban lot (general rate) | 6.1326, rising 0.6132 a year until something is built, up to 12.2652 |
For illustration only: on a hypothetical cadastral value of MXN 10,000,000, a rate of 3.0663 per thousand works out to MXN 30,663 a year. Your own bill depends on the cadastral value the municipality has on record. The law also sets a floor: annual predial on urban property can’t be less than one daily UMA (Unidad de Medida y Actualizacion), which INEGI set at MXN 117.31 from 1 February 2026 in a notice in the Diario Oficial. The municipality decides which category a property falls in.
If you’re buying land, check which rate applies before you budget. Other details that change a bill:
- In a condominium building, each unit is assessed and registered separately.
- If a rented or vacant property becomes fully occupied by its owner, the owner can apply in writing for the owner-occupied rate, effective from the next two-month period.
- New construction, extensions and modifications must be reported to the municipal cadastre within 30 days. If they aren’t, the municipality can collect the tax for the previous five years once it finds them.
When and how do you pay predial?
The law sets predial as payable every two months in advance, within the first ten days of January, March, May, July, September and November. Owners can instead pay the whole year at once, and those who do so between January and April are entitled to a reduction of up to 20%, as authorized by the municipal council.
The council sets the actual percentages each year. For 2026, the municipality announced 20% off in January and February and 10% in March, and noted the February discount had previously been 15%. The 2027 schedule hadn’t been announced when this was written, so watch for the council’s announcement.
Paying online is straightforward. The municipal treasury’s payment page lets you look up the balance with the property’s cadastral key (clave catastral) and pay by Visa or Mastercard, or generate a reference to pay at a Santander, Banamex or Bancomer branch. Late payment is expensive: the 2026 municipal revenue law charges surcharges of 2% a month on the updated unpaid amount.
Keep predial current for another reason. Under Article 34 of the municipal tax law, notaries can’t formalize the sale of a property, or a lien on it, until they’re shown a certificate that predial is paid up. Arrears become your problem the day you try to sell.
How are water and electricity billed?
Water and sewer service in Los Cabos is provided by OOMSAPAS, a decentralized municipal agency created in June 2002. It publishes its tariff structure and an online rate calculator. For a specific home, the calculator and the seller’s recent water bills are the practical guide.
Electricity is where a large home can surprise you. Under the federal residential tariff rules published in the Diario Oficial, a home moves onto the high-consumption tariff, DAC, when its average monthly use over a moving twelve-month period exceeds the limit set for its locality. That limit ranges from 250 kWh a month under Tariff 1 to 2,500 kWh a month under Tariff 1F, which applies where the average summer temperature is at least 33 degrees Celsius.
The difference in price is large. When the DAC tariff was set in December 2017, its summer energy charge in Baja California Sur was 4.623 pesos per kWh, against 0.583 pesos for the first block of Tariff 1F. Those are 2017 price levels, and Tariff 1F appears here only for comparison; your CFE bill shows which tariff applies to the home. The gap still shows why a pool pump and constant air conditioning matter. A home returns to its regular residential tariff once its consumption falls back below the limit.
Before you buy, ask for twelve months of CFE bills. They show which tariff the home is on and what a year of use actually costs.
Does home insurance in Los Cabos cover hurricanes?
Not necessarily. Mexico’s insurance law classes hurricanes and other hydrometeorological events as catastrophic risks, and the two current policies below treat them as a distinct coverage:
- In GNP’s Hogar Versatil conditions, the main building coverage excludes hydrometeorological risks, and hurricane damage is covered under a separate coverage that applies when it appears on the policy declaration. GNP’s product page advertises that protection as available anywhere in Mexico.
- In AXA Mexico’s Hogar Integral conditions, hydrometeorological risks are excluded from the basic coverages and can be added by express agreement for an additional premium. If the property is already exposed to a named storm when the policy is bought, that coverage starts 14 calendar days later.
AXA’s conditions also exclude undermining of beachfront buildings unless they’re protected by reinforced-concrete retaining walls or breakwaters, with an exception for buildings far enough from the high-tide line. If you’re buying on the sand, read that clause closely. In every case, check that hydrometeorological cover is named on the declaration page, and arrange it well before a storm is on the map.
Buy from an authorized insurer. Under the insurance law, insurance companies need federal authorization, granted by the Comision Nacional de Seguros y Fianzas, to operate in Mexico.
What other annual costs should you plan for?
Homeowner association or condominium fees are another recurring cost, and they vary by development. Ask the seller or the association for the current budget, what the fee covers, any special assessments and the payment history before you commit.
If you plan to rent the home, there’s a tax line too. Under Article 158 of the income tax law, a non-resident who rents out Mexican real estate pays 25% of the rental income received, with no deductions, and the payer must withhold it. Other options exist in some cases, so take advice from a tax professional before you list it.
For the one-time costs that come before all of this, see our breakdown of Cabo closing costs and the guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner.
Frequently asked questions
How much is property tax in Los Cabos?
It depends on the property’s cadastral value and its use, rather than the price you paid. Los Cabos sets annual predial rates per thousand pesos of cadastral value: 3.0663 for urban property not used as the owner’s home, 2.2997 for rental or mixed use, and a lower rate for an owner-occupied home. The cadastral value comes from unit values the municipality applies each year.
When is predial due in Los Cabos?
The law sets predial as payable every two months in advance, in the first ten days of January, March, May, July, September and November. Owners can pay the whole year at once instead, and paying between January and April can earn a reduction of up to 20%, with the exact percentages set by the municipal council each year.
Does home insurance in Mexico cover hurricanes?
Not always by default. Mexican insurance law classes hurricanes as a catastrophic risk, and current GNP and AXA homeowner conditions treat hydrometeorological damage as a separate coverage or a paid add-on. Check that it’s named on your policy declaration, and arrange it before storm season, since AXA delays that cover 14 days when a storm is already named.
What is the DAC electricity tariff?
DAC is Mexico’s high-consumption residential electricity tariff. A home moves onto it when its average monthly use over twelve months exceeds the limit for its locality, which ranges from 250 kWh to 2,500 kWh a month depending on the regular tariff that applies. It’s priced far above regular residential rates, and a home returns once use falls below the limit.
Budget for the year, not just the closing
Predial, utilities and insurance are predictable once you have the right documents: the clave catastral and predial status, twelve months of CFE and water bills, the association budget and an insurance quote that names hurricane cover. If you’re weighing a home in Los Cabos and want help gathering those numbers for a specific property, contact our team.
Sources
- Tesoreria Municipal de Los Cabos, Ley de Hacienda para el Municipio de Los Cabos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.tesoreria.loscabos.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/LEY-DE-HACIENDA-PARA-EL-MUNICIPIO-DE-LOS-CABOS.pdf
- Congreso de Baja California Sur, Ley de Hacienda para el Municipio de Los Cabos, current text, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.cbcs.gob.mx/LEYES-BCS/LHaciendaLosCabos.docx
- Congreso de Baja California Sur, Ley de Catastro para los Municipios del Estado de Baja California Sur, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.cbcs.gob.mx/LEYES-BCS/LCatastroBCS.doc
- Congreso de Baja California Sur, committee opinion on the Los Cabos 2026 unit value tables, 27 November 2025, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.cbcs.gob.mx/SESIONES/PORDINARIO21XVII/27-NOVIEMBRE-2025/IXPUNTO.pdf
- Congreso de Baja California Sur, Ley de Ingresos del Municipio de Los Cabos para el Ejercicio Fiscal 2026, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.cbcs.gob.mx/LEYES-BCS/LIngresosLosCabos-2026.doc
- Gobierno Municipal de Los Cabos, predial discount announcement for 2026, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.loscabos.gob.mx/anuncia-tesoreria-municipal-descuentos-en-el-pago-del-impuesto-predial-2026-en-los-cabos/
- Tesoreria Municipal de Los Cabos, Pagos y consultas, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.tesoreria.loscabos.gob.mx/pagos-y-consultas/
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, INEGI notice of the 2026 UMA value, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5778072&fecha=09/01/2026
- OOMSAPAS Los Cabos, history and tariffs pages, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://aguapotabledeloscabos.gob.mx/tramites-y-servicios/servicios/cuotas-y-tarifas
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, SHCP Acuerdo 123/2017 on residential electricity tariffs, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5506179&fecha=30/11/2017
- Comision Nacional de Seguros y Fianzas, Que hacemos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gob.mx/cnsf/que-hacemos
- Camara de Diputados, Ley de Instituciones de Seguros y de Fianzas, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LISF.pdf
- GNP Seguros, Hogar Versatil general conditions, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gnp.com.mx/content/dam/pp/mx/es/formatos/personas/hogar/seguro-de-casa-habitacion/hogar-versatil/2026/CG_HogarVers%C3%A1til_CLAUSULA.pdf
- GNP Seguros, Hogar Versatil product page, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gnp.com.mx/seguro-casa-hogar-versatil
- AXA Mexico, Hogar Integral general conditions, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://axa.mx/documents/51602/72903/CG_HOGAR_INTEGRAL.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LISR.pdf
