If you're a Mexican tax resident and you sell U.S. stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or receive dividends from them, through Bitso, here's how much tax you owe, when you owe it, and how the rules differ if you invest through a company instead of as an individual.

This is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Bitso does not provide personalized tax advisory services. Tax rules are subject to change, so confirm current requirements with a certified accountant or independent tax advisor for your situation.

Tax on selling stocks or ETFs

Every time you sell a stock or ETF, the SAT (Servicio de Administración Tributaria), Mexico's tax authority, treats it as the sale of a foreign security. Your gain or loss is the sale price minus your original purchase price minus all commissions you paid, both when you bought and when you sold. Commissions charged by Bitso and by Alpaca Securities, the regulated U.S. broker that executes your trades, count as part of your cost and reduce your taxable gain. The same calculation applies to fractional share sales.

If you made a gain, you owe 10% of that net gain as income tax (ISR) in Mexico. This rate applies to stocks and ETFs listed on the International Quotation System (SIC), and it's a definitive payment: you owe nothing further on that gain. You report gains and losses once a year in your Annual Tax Return (Declaración Anual), filed between January 1 and April 30 of the following year. Bitso does not withhold or pay this tax for you, you calculate and pay it yourself.

A loss can offset gains from similar investments, in the same tax year or in any of the following 10 years, but it cannot be deducted against your salary or other ordinary income. If you haven't sold anything, there's generally nothing to pay or report on gains yet, holding alone doesn't trigger this tax.

Tax on dividends from U.S. stocks

When a U.S. company pays a dividend, Alpaca Securities credits it to your account, and that's the moment the income counts as received for Mexican tax purposes. The United States withholds tax first, at a standard rate of 30%, reduced to 10% if you have a valid W-8BEN form on file with Bitso, thanks to the Mexico-U.S. Tax Treaty. You can credit that U.S. tax against your Mexican taxes.

On top of the U.S. withholding, Mexico charges an additional 10% tax on the gross dividend amount, also a definitive payment. Unlike sale gains, this 10% is due monthly, by the 17th of the month after you received the dividend. A dividend received in March, for example, is due by April 17. Bitso does not withhold or pay this tax for you, you're responsible for tracking your dividends and paying on time. You also include dividends in your Annual Tax Return, added to your other income for the year.

Individual accounts vs. business accounts

Both individuals and companies can credit the U.S. withholding tax against their Mexican taxes, within the limits of the Mexico-U.S. Tax Treaty.