Moving to your new home in Puerto Vallarta doesn’t mean that you won’t want to bring some of your favorite things along with you. If you have purchased a property in Puerto Vallarta and want to import personal goods to Mexico, it’s important to be mindful of those items which are permitted for importation, those which are subject to duties and those which you are bringing into the country without taxation. Here is a good starting point to educating yourself about bringing personal goods to Mexico.
Goods Not Subject to Importation Duties*
- Furniture
- Household goods, like pots and pans and kitchen items
- Clothing for personal use
- Books or music collections for personal use
- Artwork that is for your home, not for public exhibition
- Tools of the trade for your profession, i.e. professional plumbing equipment, scientific instruments or artisan tools
- Baby gear like strollers, cribs, playpens, etc.
*To import these types of goods to Mexico free of taxes, you must be able to prove that they were purchased six months prior to being imported into the country.
Goods Subject to Importation Duties
- Vehicles
- Any goods that have been out of the country for commercial or industrial activities
- Electronics that are not for personal use. Computers are an excellent example. Unless you can prove that your profession specifically requires you to have more than one computer, you are likely to pay importation taxes.
Importation rules do change from time to time, but you can keep up to date on current regulations via this English-language government website so that you are mindful of your packing and preparation:
http://www.sat.gob.mx/BienvenidoaMexico/Paginas/default_eng.htm
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