The simplified tax regime RESICO (Régimen Simplificado de Confianza) has become one of the most popular tax regimes among sole proprietors, self-employed professionals and small business owners in Mexico. The main reason — Income tax rates (ISR) here are significantly lower than in the general tax regime.
For individuals, ISR tax is calculated at preferential rates from 1% to 2.5% of actual income received. In the general regime, the ISR rate is progressive and can reach 35%.
We talked in detail about RESICO in thispublications.
The transition to RESICO opens the way to reduce the tax burden several times. Many taxpayers mistakenly believe that it is necessary to contact an accountant or tax consultant to change the regime. But the process of switching to RESICO is quite simple and can be completed independently through the SAT portal in just a few minutes.
Individuals who:
- have a valid RFC tax number,
- plan to conduct business, provide professional services, receive income from rental real estate, etc.
- annual income does not exceed 3.5 million pesos.
The following are not able to switch to RESICO:
- participants and shareholders of commercial companies,
- receiving income incompatible with the requirements of the regime (dividends, shares),
- taxpayers excluded by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) for breach of duty,
- certain categories of persons expressly specified in tax legislation.
Usually, when first contacting SAT to register in the taxpayer register and acquire an RFC tax number, residents are given a tax regime «without tax obligations» (Sin Obligaciones Fiscales) or, if the resident has an employer, the regime «on salary» (Asalariado). If you were also given an e.firma electronic signature, you can switch to RESICO yourself through your SAT personal account.
Before starting the steps, make sure you have:
- valid RFC,
- password to the SAT portal or e.firma,
- activated notification box Buzón Tributario,
- your contact details in SAT are up to date,
- the types of activities that give the right to apply the RESICO regime are indicated.
If, after purchasing an RFC, you have selected the "Sin Obligaciones Fiscales" mode, you first need to register an economic activity (Actividad Económica), and only then the system will allow you to assign a RESICO tax regime and obligations. The procedure is carried out through the section on changes in economic activity and tax obligations on the SAT portal.
Step 1. Log in to your SAT account
Log in to the SAT portal using the RFC and password or e.firma electronic signature.
Step 2: Open the Activity Update section
Go to: Tramites del RFC — Actualización en el RFC — Actualización de actividades económicas y obligaciones. This section makes it possible to add new types of activities, tax obligations and change the tax regime.
Step 3. Specify the start date of activity
The system will request the start date of economic activity. Typically, it is necessary to indicate the date from which work on a new line of activity actually began or begins. SAT requires notification of changes in activity within one month of the occurrence of the relevant circumstances.
Step 4. Select the type of economic activity
The SAT catalog with activities will open. You need to choose the most suitable option for the type of activity. If several lines of business are planned, it is allowed to indicate several types of activities and select the main activity (Actividad Preponderante). SAT recommends that all activities actually carried out be indicated.
Step 5: Confirm your tax obligations
After selecting an activity, the system will automatically generate a list of possible tax obligations. At this stage, the choice of tax regime will become available and you will be able to activate RESICO.
Step 6. Select RESICO
In the tax regime section, select Régimen Simplificado de Confianza (RESICO). Once selected, the system will automatically generate the appropriate income tax (ISR) and VAT (IVA) liabilities.
Step 7. Sign the application
Confirm the changes using e.firma or the SAT password (contraseña). Having a valid e.firma greatly simplifies any changes to your tax profile and is recommended for switching to RESICO.
Step 8: Save Acuse
Once the stages are completed, the SAT will form the Acuse de Movimientos de Actualización de Situación Fiscal. It is required to save this document as a PDF and additionally check your confirmation of tax status (Constancia de Situación Fiscal). The selected economic activity, regime code 626 (RESICO), and corresponding tax obligations must appear in it.
If you have already selected your economic activities, select the Actualización de actividades económicas y obligaciones procedure. This is where the change in tax regime is made. Next, in the list of modes, select Regimen Simplificado de Confianza. After this, the system will ask you to confirm the types of your economic activity. The system will then generate an Acuse document. Then everything is as described above.
In most cases, an individual is able to switch to RESICO during the year without waiting for the start of the next tax period. For an individual, the transition to RESICO is not necessarily tied to the 1st day of the month. In the SAT, when there is a change in activity and tax liability, the fecha de movimiento (date of change) or the date of commencement of the activity is indicated. It is this that becomes the starting point for the application of the new regime. For example, you registered a new activity on June 12, selected RESICO on June 12, SAT accepted the change, then the start date of the regime may appear in your data as June 12, and not July 1.
For tax accounting purposes, returns are still filed for calendar months. If before June 12 you had a general tax regime PFAE, and from June 12 you became RESICO, there is a need to correctly separate income and liabilities by period, for this reason such transitions are usually analyzed individually.
If you have doubts regarding the start date of application of the regime, check the data directly in the taxpayer’s personal account after completing the stages.
Important question:Is it possible to use several tax regimes at the same time?Yes, it is allowed. An individual has the opportunity to simultaneously acquire income from different sources, for which different tax rules apply. In particular, taxpayers have the opportunity to:
- work for hire and receive a salary,
- simultaneously conduct business activities at RESICO rates,
- arrange bank interest,
- register income from rental property.
Each type of income is reflected in the appropriate tax regime and is taxed according to the rules established for it. However, the possibility of combining depends on the specific type of activity and the restrictions provided for by law. Before registering with RESICO, it is recommended to check whether your existing sources of income do not interfere with the application of the regime.
The SAT Tax Service has the ability to exclude a taxpayer from the regime if the established requirements are violated. The most common reasons:
- exceeding the income limit of 3.5 million pesos for the year,
- failure to comply with the terms of application of the regime,
- failure to submit mandatory reports,
- identification of circumstances incompatible with RESICO (you have become a director in the company).
After exclusion, the taxpayer is transferred to the general tax regime, where ISR rates are significantly higher.
We would like to emphasize that registration under the RESICO regime automatically entails tax obligations. They arise regardless of whether you received income or not. Depending on the registered activity, the taxpayer has obligations to submit ISR and IVA returns within the established time limits. If there was no income during the month, this does not always exempt you from the obligation to file a corresponding declaration with zero indicators.
Therefore, it is recommended to switch to RESICO only if you really plan to conduct business and acquire income or are ready to simply submit blank declarations.
If, after registering with RESICO, the activity does not begin, the taxpayer still remains obliged to comply with SAT regulations until the tax regime is changed or the tax authority notifies the cessation of activity.