Mexican Tax Agency Fines Hit Record High, Surpassing 30 Billion Pesos

Mexico City, Mexico — Mexico’s tax authority collected a record amount in fines from taxpayers last year, surpassing 30 billion pesos for the first time since 2008, according to official data.

The Tax Administration Service (SAT) collected 30.368 billion pesos in fines during 2025, representing a 52% real increase after adjusting for inflation, the Finance Ministry reported.

Guillermo Mendieta, spokesperson for the Fiscal Audit Technical Commission of the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants, said the amount reflects increased enforcement efforts by the SAT in recent years.

“The authority has modified its notification and review methods,” Mendieta told El Sol de México. “The collection mechanics of recent years have been important, and we’ve seen a change in revenue law policy.”

The expert noted that what has changed most is how the SAT exercises its collection powers. This tightening occurs amid pressure on public finances, as the federal government increasingly depends on tax revenues to meet its budget goals.

In this scenario, collecting fines and recovering tax debts has become a relevant component of revenue strategy, while being combined with regularization programs to encourage voluntary compliance.

Among the main instruments that have changed, according to Mendieta, are invitation letters, express deep surveillance, express audits, cabinet reviews, home visits, and administrative pressure measures such as canceling or suspending digital seal certificates when tax obligations aren’t met.

The expert highlighted that this strategy gains greater relevance in the context of the 2026 Federal Revenue Law, where a substantial portion of budgeted income depends on tax collection.

Within this framework, he explained that the government has opted to expand tax regularization incentives with the goal of recovering overdue portfolios. Currently, these benefits apply to tax credits from taxpayers with invoiced income up to 300 million pesos, significantly expanding the potential base.

Finance Ministry data indicate that of the total fines collected by the SAT in 2025, 26.769 billion pesos came from taxpayer tax corrections (for errors or omissions in their declarations). The remainder came from foreign trade violations, irregularities in the Federal Taxpayer Registry, and other infractions.

The most recent case was the collection of a tax debt exceeding 32 billion pesos that the government of Claudia Sheinbaum applied to Grupo Salinas, owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego, which will be paid in 18 monthly installments.

For this year, the SAT launched a regularization plan for individuals and corporations with tax debts, who will have the possibility of reducing up to 100% of fines, surcharges, and execution costs.

The program allows reducing up to the total of fines, surcharges, and execution costs, and in cases where tax credits consist solely of fines, taxpayers can access a reduction of up to 90% of the amount.

According to the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants specialist, these schemes encourage taxpayers to abandon ongoing lawsuits and revocation resources to settle their credits and get current with the tax authority, which in turn contributes to budgeted collection.

“Ultimately it’s a good opportunity for taxpayers to get current with tax authorities and, at the same time, for the government to obtain more income,” he added.

However, he considered it crucial that the SAT reinforces dissemination of these incentives so taxpayers with debts prior to 2024 know the available options and can regularize within the established deadline. “What the tax authority should do is give much more dissemination about this long-term benefit,” Mendieta added.