Starting January 1, 2026, Airbnb and other digital platforms in Mexico will automatically withhold 16 percent VAT (IVA) on money they transfer to homeowners if the payment goes to a bank account outside the state. This requirement is enshrined in the government's tax package Paquete Económico 2026 and has already caused serious discussion among lawyers, auditors and tax consultants.
It's important to understand that this is not a new rental tax. VAT has been in effect for a long time and is collected from guests — When a person books an accommodation, they pay VAT as part of the total cost of the booking. Airbnb collects this tax from the client and transfers it to the budget. This did not affect the homeowners in any way: they did not receive VAT in their hands and it was not you who had to transfer it to the state yourself.
Now something else is changing — payment mechanism. If the homeowner receives money into a foreign account, the platform is required to withhold 16% VAT from this payment. Technically, this is not the same tax that the guest pays. This is a separate deduction, which no longer relates to the accommodation service, but to the payment of income abroad itself. The law treats these two cases as different tax events.
In addition, the accompanying documents to Paquete Económico 2026 note: if the homeowner is registered with the tax office (has an RFC) and receives income in a Mexican account, withholding will be minimal. But if payments are made abroad or the recipient is not registered in the SAT system, increased withholding rates may apply — up to and including withholding the full amount of VAT and the corresponding income tax rates. These measures are aimed at combating the flow of income outside the state and strengthening control over digital platforms.
Airbnb has already started sending out notices to all homeowners advising them to update their payment details and opt to switch to a Mexican bank account to avoid automatic deductions. In the letters, the platform emphasizes that from 2026 it will be obliged to withhold IVA for foreign payments in full.
For homeowners, this means preparing ahead of time. To avoid unnecessary withholding, you need to register with the IRS and specify a local account for payments. Otherwise, 16% will be withheld from each transfer, which will significantly reduce the final income.
Although at first glance it seems that a «double VAT» — one is paid by the guest, the second is withheld from the owner, — legally these are two different mechanisms. The first relates to the accommodation service, the second to cross-border income payment. Therefore, the law does not consider this double taxation.
The 2026 reform does not introduce a new tax, but radically changes the way the existing one is administered. Now digital platforms are responsible not only for the VAT of guests, but also for withholding tax on payments to homeowners when transferring abroad. For the rental market, this means a new tax reality.