When foreigners move to Mexico, one of the most valuable perks almost nobody hears about is the menaje de casa (household goods permit). It lets a new resident import used personal belongings, furniture, and appliances into Mexico once, duty-free, instead of paying the general import tax that can run 16% IVA plus 15–20% duties on the declared value of everything you own. On a full container of household goods worth USD $40,000–$60,000, that is easily USD $10,000 or more in taxes avoided. But the benefit is tightly regulated, one-shot, and full of paperwork traps. Here is how it actually works.
What the menaje de casa is (and isn’t)
The menaje de casa is a franquicia (tax exemption) granted by the Mexican consulate abroad and honored by customs (aduana) when your goods cross the border. It covers used household items you already own: furniture, kitchenware, linens, clothing, books, tools, personal electronics, and appliances that are consistent with a normal home.
It is not a way to import:
- Brand-new merchandise, or multiple identical items that look like inventory for resale
- Vehicles, boats, motorcycles, or ATVs (those follow a separate temporary import or nationalization process)
- Firearms, or items restricted under Mexican law
- Commercial equipment, industrial machinery, or a business’s stock
The rule of thumb customs applies: does this look like the contents of one family’s home, in reasonable quantities? Twelve place settings, fine. Forty identical toasters, no.
Who qualifies
The permit is tied to your residency status, not tourism. You generally must hold or be in the process of obtaining:
- Residente temporal (temporary resident), or
- Residente permanente (permanent resident)
A regular tourist on an FMM/visitante permit does not qualify. In practice you start the residency visa at the Mexican consulate in your home country, and you request the menaje de casa in that same window, before you complete the move. The consulate issues a certified, stamped inventory list that travels with your shipment.
Timing matters. Most consulates expect the menaje request while your residency visa is fresh — commonly within about 6 months of first entering Mexico as a resident and completing the canje (the exchange of the consular visa sticker for your resident card at the INM office inside Mexico). Miss that window and customs can refuse the exemption.
The itemized inventory list
This is the heart of the process, and where most people lose money. You must submit a detailed, itemized inventory (lista de menaje) in Spanish, typically requiring:
- A line for each item or lot, described specifically (e.g., “1 wooden dining table,” not “furniture”)
- Brand, model, and serial number for appliances and electronics (TVs, laptops, refrigerators, washers)
- An estimated used value for each item (be realistic — these are secondhand goods)
- Total number of boxes/lots, often numbered to match physical labels on your shipment
Expect two to four copies, signed by you, and in many consulates notarized or protocolized. The consulate reviews it, may ask you to remove items that look commercial, and then stamps and certifies the final version. That certified list is the legal document your mover and customs broker present at the border. If a box shows up that isn’t on the list, it is not covered.
Consulate steps, in order
- Book an appointment at the Mexican consulate that handles your area (this is usually bundled with your residency visa appointment).
- Prepare the inventory in Spanish, itemized as above, plus your passport, visa/residency documentation, and proof of your move.
- Attend the appointment, present the list, pay the consular fee (commonly USD $150–$300, varies by consulate), and get the certified stamped inventory.
- Ship your goods with a moving company that has a Mexican customs broker (agente aduanal). The broker files the pedimento (customs declaration) using your certified list.
- Complete the canje in Mexico — turn your consular visa into a resident card at INM — because customs wants proof you actually became a resident.
Costs to budget
The tax exemption is free in the sense that you skip import duties, but the logistics are not:
- Consular/permit fee: USD $150–$300
- Customs broker (agente aduanal) fee: typically USD $400–$1,200, sometimes charged as a percentage of declared value
- International freight (a shared or full container from the US Sun Belt): USD $4,000–$12,000+ depending on distance and volume
- Translation/notary of the inventory if required: USD $50–$200
Even with these costs, the exemption usually saves several thousand dollars versus paying full import tax.
One use, one shipment — the biggest trap
The menaje de casa is generally a once-in-a-lifetime, single-shipment benefit per person for a given residency. Practical consequences:
- Send everything in one move. If you ship half now and half in six months, the second batch typically does not get the exemption.
- Don’t leave items off the list to “add later.” They won’t be covered later.
- Some consulates allow a short grace period or a second partial shipment tied to the same permit — but do not assume it; confirm in writing before you split a move.
Common mistakes that cost money
- Vague descriptions. “Kitchen items” gets flagged; itemize.
- Missing serial numbers on electronics, forcing re-inspection or denial.
- Listing new-in-box goods. Anything that looks retail-fresh invites duties and suspicion of commercial import.
- Ignoring the canje deadline, which invalidates the residency link customs relies on.
- Using a mover without a Mexican broker, leaving your shipment stuck at the border racking up storage fees of USD $50–$150/day.
Bottom line
The menaje de casa is one of the best financial reasons to formalize your residency before you move rather than after. Treat it as a legal document, not a packing list:
- Confirm you’ll hold temporal or permanente status and start the request at the consulate early.
- Build one exhaustive, itemized inventory in Spanish, with serial numbers and realistic used values.
- Ship everything in a single move with a broker-backed mover.
- Complete your canje in Mexico on time.
Do it right and you import a whole household for the cost of freight plus a modest fee — instead of handing customs a five-figure tax bill.