Step by Step instructions; New Requirements for Mexicans Age 18 & Foreign Residents “Expats” to Register with SAT by July 1st

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All foreigners in Mexico on Residente Temporal & Resident Permanente visas, and anyone over age 18 with a CURP, face 3 new requirements by July 1’st, 2022. The latest changes to Mexican law will require foreign residents to:

1. Get RFC numbers (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes) from SAT-Hacienda to register as a taxpayer-resident in Mexico, and then

2. Get a “Constancia de Situacion Fiscal” document from SAT-Hacienda, as proof of Tax – Fiscal registration with SAT, and

3. That “Constancia de Situacion Fiscal” document will be necessary to be an electricity (CFE), water, or internet customer in Mexico. Further, any buying or selling of a car or house, or property will also require having an RFC and the Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document.

Sources:
Código Fiscal de la Federación, artículo 27 … also see the Mexican DOF.
https://www.sat.gob.mx/normatividad/54967/leyes-fiscales &
https://www.sat.gob.mx/aplicacion/53027/genera-tu-constancia-de-situacion-fiscal


Sidelights:
First … Many people in Mexico think they have an RFC, while they actually don’t. There was over a decade when local branches of Mexican banks just made up RFCs for their clients who had no actual official RFC from SAT-Hacienda, just to allow the bank to open an account for the person. Those old bank-issued RFCs are not valid for anything – so, unless you personally went into a SAT-Hacienda office and got your RFC, instead know that the bank-issued RFC is likely worthless & that you still need to go get an official RFC from SAT.

Second … Unfortunately, these actions directed heavily at fat cats & big criminals, also flow down over the rest of us, who are living simple lives, uncomplicated by money laundering, gun-running, & drug smuggling. These new requirements are partly being driven by the USA’s ongoing War on Drugs & USA’s War on Money laundering – pressuring Mexico to address these problems, which then flows down onto the rest of us, just like the USA’s 2009-2010 new laws on foreign bank accounts & the 2009-2010’s new laws driving US banks to cut off accounts by 2017 for Americans living abroad. … These changes also come from Mexico trying to increase tax compliance, by requiring all Mexicans over age 18 to now be registered at SAT with RFC numbers.

Third … These new requirements come at a peculiarly difficult time because the SAT-Hacienda systems for creating new RFC accounts are working very poorly these past months.

Notice that it’s a new requirement for ALL Mexicans over age 18 … so, the SAT-Hacienda appointment systems are backed up over 4 months with new applications, from Mexicans …. 4 months just to issue an appointment date … It’s not just gringos … and … It may take 6 months to work-off the current backlog of Mexican applicants.

International Context: … (Is Mexico so much worse than other countries)
It’s just like how Obama-Biden cut IRS funding, resulting in 26 million unopened tax returns in 2021, still unopened by April 2022 … so the US IRS is now burning-shredding millions of unopened returns that are more than 3 yrs old. … Fortunately, Mexico is not shredding nor burning our SAT-Hacienda tax applications … yet they are at least 4 months behind in being able to issue appointments at most SAT locations.

So, unless you need to buy-sell a house, now, or open a CFE account, or open a new internet service account NOW … you will likely be OK waiting the 4 – 6 months in a “fila virtual” (virtual line, online) waiting to get your email notifying of your appointment with SAT-Hacienda (details below).

* * * * *
How to Register for an RFC Appointment with SAT-Hacienda:
SAT’s current system for registering for an RFC requires the foreigner to register online to get an appointment to come into an SAT-Hacienda office, to both register, get ID fotos & supply fingerprints.

SAT Online Appointement Website:
https://citas.sat.gob.mx/

When online at the SAT portal, we request an appointment ( “Registrar Cita ” ), and then choose the option as an individual taxpayer ( “Persona Fisica ” ), and then enter your CURP number. Also note that you will need to take an official copy of your CURP document to your SAT appointment – so keep it handy when you get it out to register online for your SAT RFC appointment.

The next parts of the online SAT RFC appointment request process are straightforward:
On the next page after entering your CURP, you select the service you want (RFC appointment), & choose the state you want to apply in.

NOTE: … Our local Merida SAT-Hacienda office has been taking 2 – 4 months to issue appointments, so many people who need to buy or sell a house, property, or car have been making their appontments at either Campeche’s or Chetumal’s (Q. Roo) SAT-Hacienda offices.

After you select the state you want to apply in, you will either be given the option to choose a date on a calendar, or you will face a notice that says no appointments are available at this time – which is why many foreigners in Yucatan are jumping to Campeche or Chetumal (Q. roo), but even those appointments are filling up now.

If you face the “no appointments available” option, you will then have the option to choose to enter a virtual line – queue (“fila virtual“), which gets you in to the system, but the last 3 months of internet reports by foreigners show that you may not get a notice for an appointment for another 4 months. Applying for a spot in the fila virtual, and then entering your email, enables SAT to send you an alpha-numerical “token” that is used to join the virtual line.

At that point, you sit and wait, and monitor your email for a notice from SAT notifying you of your appointment date. As you go in for your appointment, you’ll need a short list of documents. The current SAT website lists:
~ A valid migratory document (your Residente visa card);
~ A comprabante, (proof of address), like a bank statement, CFE electric bill, or copy of your rental agreement contract.
~ Your passport

Note … Assorted internet reports describe that many SAT officies are also requiring that you show a copy of your CURP document, even though this is not reported on the SAT website.

Recent internet reports also describe that you should bring a USB memory stick, for SAT to download a personal digital signature “firma digital” for future use. At that point SAT takes your ID foto, takes your finger prints (all at no charge). Finally, recent inteernet reports say that the process takes about 40 minutes.

Final Note: As these new requirements come online, there will be consequences from the new legal requirements: People who want to sign up for internet services, for water services, for CFE accounts … or to buy or sell a house, property or car, will have to provide both their RFC number, and their Constancia de Situacion Fiscal document.


We will continue to update this article as the situations evolve.

Stay informed … Stay healthy … Stay safe …

Dr. Steven M. Fry

Ph.D. in Chemistry, Public Health, & Laboratory Measurement Science.

Follow more of Dr. Steven Fry at yucalandia.com

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