When you trade Bitcoin in Mexico, buy Ethereum with pesos, or use Dogecoin to pay for coffee, you might think it’s just a digital transaction. But under Mexican law, each of those moves could trigger a tax bill. Unlike countries with clear crypto tax rules, Mexico doesn’t have a special law for cryptocurrency. Instead, your crypto activities are squeezed into old tax categories designed for stocks, real estate, and cash. That means confusion, unexpected liabilities, and a lot of record-keeping.

What Counts as a Taxable Event?

In Mexico, you don’t owe tax just because your Bitcoin went from $20,000 to $30,000. The tax system only kicks in when you actually do something with the asset - a rule called realization. That’s different from places like the U.S., where some argue you should pay tax on unrealized gains. In Mexico, here’s what triggers a taxable event:

• Selling crypto for Mexican pesos or U.S. dollars
• Exchanging one cryptocurrency for another (e.g., Bitcoin for Ethereum)
• Using crypto to buy goods or services
• Receiving crypto as payment for work or services

Even buying a $50 pizza with Litecoin counts. The moment you spend it, the IRS-style rule applies: you’re treated as if you sold that Litecoin at its market value and then bought the pizza. If you bought that Litecoin for $30 and it was worth $50 when you spent it, you’ve made a $20 profit - and that’s taxable.

How Individuals Pay Tax on Crypto Gains

For individuals, Mexico uses a progressive income tax rate from 1.92% to 35%. There’s no separate capital gains tax rate. All income - whether from your job, rental property, or crypto trades - gets added together and taxed at the same rate based on your total annual earnings.

But here’s the one bright spot: Mexican law gives you a yearly exemption of up to 90,000 Mexican pesos (about $4,000 USD) on gains from movable property. That includes crypto. If your total crypto profits for the year are below that amount, you pay zero tax. Many casual traders never hit this threshold - especially if they’re only buying and holding, or making small trades.

But if you’re active? Say you traded Bitcoin five times in a month and made $5,000 in total gains? You’re over the exemption. Now you must report the full $5,000 as income and pay tax based on your overall income bracket. If you earn $150,000 a year from your job and add $5,000 in crypto gains, you could jump into the 30% or 35% bracket. That’s not a 30% tax on just the $5,000 - it’s 30% on the portion of your total income that falls in that bracket.

Corporate Crypto Taxes Are Simpler - and Heavier

Businesses don’t get the $4,000 exemption. For companies operating in Mexico, crypto gains are taxed at a flat 30%. It doesn’t matter if you held Bitcoin for a day or a year. No preferential long-term rates. No deductions for losses unless you actually sold and realized them.

That makes crypto trading risky for small businesses. If you run a shop that accepts crypto payments, every sale is treated as a sale of inventory. You have to track the cost basis of each coin you received and the market value at the time of sale. If your cost basis was 15,000 pesos and you sold it for 20,000 pesos, that’s a 5,000 peso gain - taxed at 30%. That’s 1,500 pesos gone in taxes on a $275 sale.

Staking, Mining, and Airdrops - The Gray Zones

Mexican tax law doesn’t explicitly say what to do with staking rewards, mining income, or airdrops. But tax professionals agree on how it should work based on existing rules.

If you mine Bitcoin, the moment you receive the new coins, they become income. You owe tax on their fair market value in pesos at that exact moment. Same with staking rewards - if you earn 0.5 ETH from staking, that’s taxable income on the day it hits your wallet. Airdrops? If you didn’t do anything to earn them, they’re still treated as income when you receive them.

And here’s the catch: you don’t get to wait until you sell. The moment you receive the crypto, the tax event happens. So if you get an airdrop of 100 tokens worth $100 today, you owe tax on $100 - even if those tokens crash to $1 next week. You can’t deduct that loss later unless you sell the tokens and realize the loss.

Record Keeping Is Non-Negotiable

The Mexican tax authority (SAT) doesn’t give you a template for crypto records. But they expect you to prove everything. That means:

• Date and time of every purchase, sale, or trade
• Amount of crypto involved
• Value in Mexican pesos at the time of the transaction (using a reliable exchange rate)
• Source of funds used to buy crypto (especially if you used bank transfers)
• Wallet addresses and exchange platforms used
• Counterparty details if you traded with someone directly

Most people use spreadsheets or crypto tax software like Koinly or CoinTracker. But here’s the problem: Mexican law requires you to report values in pesos. If you used Coinbase in USD and Binance in EUR, you have to convert each transaction to pesos using the official exchange rate on that day. The Bank of Mexico publishes daily rates - use those.

And don’t assume FIFO (First In, First Out) is automatic. It’s the default method for movable property under civil law, but SAT hasn’t confirmed it for crypto. Still, it’s your safest bet. If you bought 1 BTC in January for $30,000 and another in June for $40,000, then sold 0.5 BTC in August, you must report the first 0.5 BTC as your cost basis - not the more expensive one.

Reporting Thresholds and AML Rules

It’s not just about taxes. Mexico’s anti-money laundering law forces anyone - even individuals - to report crypto transactions over $3,500 USD. That’s not the IRS. That’s the Ministry of Finance. If you send $4,000 worth of ETH to a friend, or buy $5,000 in crypto on a local exchange, that transaction gets flagged.

That means:

• Even if your gains are under $4,000 and tax-free, you might still have to report the transaction
• Exchanges operating in Mexico must collect KYC info and report large transfers
• Trying to break up large transfers into smaller ones to avoid reporting is risky - authorities can see patterns

There’s no criminal penalty for not reporting small transactions, but if you’re audited and can’t prove where your crypto came from, you could face fines or be forced to pay back taxes plus penalties.

What’s Not Taxed? (And What’s Still Unclear)

You don’t owe tax when you:

• Buy crypto with pesos (no gain yet)
• Transfer crypto between your own wallets
• Hold crypto without selling or spending it

But here’s what’s still murky:

• What if you receive crypto as a gift? No clear rule - but if you later sell it, you’ll need to prove the original cost basis.
• What about DeFi yield farming? Likely taxable as income when rewards are received.
• What if you lose crypto to a hack? No deduction allowed unless you can prove the loss and report it as a capital loss - and even then, it’s unclear if losses can offset gains.

There’s no official guidance. Tax professionals advise assuming the worst-case scenario: if it’s income or a disposal, it’s taxable. If you’re unsure, document everything and consult a local tax advisor who’s handled crypto cases before.

How Mexico Compares to Neighbors

Compared to other Latin American countries, Mexico is middle-of-the-road.

El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021 - but as of January 2025, they dropped the mandatory status and now treat crypto like any other asset. Argentina offered a one-time amnesty in early 2025 for undeclared crypto - a rare move. Brazil taxes crypto like stocks, with a 15% capital gains rate on sales over 35,000 BRL. Colombia has a 10% tax on crypto gains.

Mexico’s 35% top rate and lack of preferential treatment make it less friendly than some neighbors. But the $4,000 exemption for individuals helps. It’s not perfect - but it’s workable if you’re careful.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you’ve traded crypto in Mexico in 2025:

1. Calculate your total gains from all sales, trades, and uses of crypto this year.
2. Subtract the 90,000 peso exemption. If you’re under, you owe nothing.
3. If you’re over, add your crypto gains to your other income to find your tax bracket.
4. Gather all transaction records - dates, amounts, values in pesos, wallet addresses.
5. Check if any single transaction was over $3,500 USD - if yes, you may need to report it to the Ministry of Finance.
6. Consult a Mexican tax advisor who understands crypto. Don’t rely on generic advice from online forums.

The rules won’t change overnight. Mexico isn’t rushing to create a crypto-friendly tax code. It’s watching, waiting, and applying old laws to new tech. Your job isn’t to wait for clarity - it’s to stay compliant before the government comes knocking.