Bring your furniture to Mexico tax-free (once)

Moving a household to Mexico without the exemption can mean paying import taxes on everything in the truck or container. The menaje de casa exemption removes that. Most of the work happens before you leave, at the same consulate where you apply for residency. This guide covers who qualifies, the timing, the paperwork, and the limits.

Who can use it

Article 61, section VII of the Ley Aduanera exempts household goods from import taxes, following the procedure in its regulations. For foreigners, that means:

• Permanent Residents import their menaje de casa for good.
• Temporary Residents (including students) bring it in under temporary import. It can stay as long as your residency lasts, including renewals, and you're expected to take it out of Mexico when you leave.
• Tourists can't use it. You need the residency visa in your passport or a resident card.

That's the link to residency: if you're planning a move with furniture, the residency application comes first. The consulate that issues your visa is also where you get the household goods list certified.

What counts as menaje de casa

The customs regulations define it as the used furniture and belongings of a home that serve the ordinary daily use of a family. In practice:

• Included: furniture, kitchenware, linens, books, clothing, appliances, and personal electronics in normal household quantities.
• Must be used and yours: items must have been acquired at least six months before. New items still in the box don't qualify.
• Excluded: vehicles (they follow separate rules), and anything for commercial or industrial use, like stock or business equipment.

The timing window

According to ANAM, Mexico's customs agency, the import can take place within the three months before you enter Mexico, or within the six months after you arrive.

So the order is:

1. Get your residency visa at a Mexican consulate.
2. Get your household goods list certified at the consulate.
3. Enter Mexico with the visa, and start the canje at INM within 30 days to get your resident card.
4. Have the shipment cross the border within the window.

Shipping companies need weeks to quote, pack and move, so start talking to them when you book your consulate appointment, not after you arrive.

The paperwork

1. The certified list from the consulate

You prepare a detailed list of everything in the shipment, and the Mexican consulate certifies it (the certificado de menaje de casa). Requirements vary a little between consulates, so check the page of the one you'll use. Expect:

• The list in Spanish, typed, with quantities and descriptions. Appliances and electronics are listed with brand, model and serial number.
• Several signed copies.
• Your passport and residency visa or card.
• Your current address abroad and your future address in Mexico.
• A consular fee, which varies by consulate.

Be thorough. Customs compares the shipment with the certified list, and items that aren't on it can be taxed.

2. A customs broker in Mexico

ANAM requires the import to go through an agente aduanal (licensed customs broker), who files the customs declaration for you. International movers usually arrange one, so ask any moving company whether the broker is included in their quote. You'll typically provide the broker with:

• The consulate-certified list.
• A copy of your residency visa or card, and of the entry stamp in your passport.
• Your passport.

You don't provide commercial invoices: these are personal belongings, not goods for sale.

Is it worth it?

It depends on what you're moving. A full container is expensive whether or not you pay import taxes, and furniture is easy to buy in Mexico. Many people bring a few boxes of things that matter and buy the rest locally. If you're moving a full home, or things that would be hard to replace, menaje de casa is how you avoid paying tax on them.

Either way, decide early. The window is fixed, and the paperwork starts at the consulate.

Sources

• Ley Aduanera, Article 61, section VII.
• ANAM, Trámites de menaje de casa (timing window, exclusions) and menaje de casa for permanent residents (consular declaration, customs broker, Reglamento de la Ley Aduanera Articles 100, 101 and 104, RGCE rule 3.3.5).
• Mexican consulates publish their own list requirements and fee, for example the Consulate in Atlanta.

Last checked October 2, 2026. Customs rules and consular fees change, so confirm details with your consulate and broker. This is general information, not legal advice. If something here doesn't match your experience, please tell me.