How to Wire Money to Buy Property in Mexico from the US

To wire money to buy property in Mexico, you send a bank transfer from your US account, either to a US escrow company or to the accounts named for the closing, after confirming the instructions by phone. Cash is off the table: Mexican law bans cash payments for real estate worth MXN 941,412.75 or more in 2026, about USD 51,100.

The rest is about cost and paperwork. Compare exchange rates before you convert, because a 1% difference on USD 500,000 is USD 5,000. The new 1% US remittance tax doesn't apply to transfers from a US bank account. And keep every wire confirmation, because you'll need them to calculate your gain when you sell.

Three ways to wire money to buy property in Mexico

Many buyers combine two routes: the price goes to the seller or through escrow, and the closing costs go to the notary. Your notary and the seller agree on this before signing, so ask early.

How escrow works. Escrow is not required by Mexican law and isn't regulated in Mexico; US escrow companies are regulated by their home state. You deposit the earnest money, often about 10%, when you sign the promise contract, then the balance and closing costs before the signing.

At closing, the notary sends a distribution-of-funds statement and authorizes the release. The escrow company pays the seller, the taxes and the fees, and sends proof of each transfer back to the notary. Ask for proof of its errors-and-omissions, crime and cyber-fraud insurance, and expect know-your-client forms.

A direct wire is simpler, but your deposit sits with the seller from day one. That matters most on pre-construction, where deposits are paid months before delivery; we cover it in buying pre-construction property in Mexico.

If part of the money comes from a HELOC or a loan, our Mexico mortgage calculator shows how much cash you'll need to wire at closing.

Verify every wire instruction by phone

Real-estate closings are a target for email fraud: someone gets into an email thread and sends "updated" wire instructions for an account they control. Once a wire lands, getting it back is hard. Five habits help:

1. Get the wire instructions in person or in a document from the notary's office or the escrow company.
2. Confirm them by calling a number you found yourself, never one printed in the email.
3. Check the account holder's name, the bank, and the 18-digit CLABE for a Mexican account, or the SWIFT code and account number.
4. Treat any change of instructions sent by email as fraud until you've confirmed it by phone.
5. Send a small test wire first and have the recipient confirm the exact amount.

Wire from an account in your own name. The notary records where the money came from, and a transfer from a relative's account raises questions you'll have to answer at signing.

Why you can't pay cash

Mexico's anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI, Article 32) bans paying in cash, meaning bills and coins in pesos or foreign currency, or precious metals, for real estate worth 8,025 UMA or more. That's MXN 941,412.75 in 2026. Since nearly every home costs more, the price moves by bank transfer.

Above that value, the notary records in the deed how the price was paid. Notaries also report deeds worth 8,000 UMA or more (MXN 938,480) under the same law, and developers report sales of 8,025 UMA or more, identifying the buyer and the beneficial owner. Expect questions about the source of your funds, and answer them with bank statements.

Currency conversion and the spread

The wire fee is the small part of moving money. The exchange rate is the large one: banks and transfer services sell pesos at a margin over the market rate. Compare the rate you're offered with Banxico's FIX for the day, which was 18.4253 pesos per dollar on October 19, 2026. On USD 500,000, a 1% margin costs USD 5,000, and 3% costs USD 15,000.

Get quotes from your US bank and from a specialist currency provider; some let you lock a rate for a future date. The peso also moves on its own. Over the last five years the FIX ranged from 16.34 (April 2024) to 21.82 (November 2021). A home priced at MXN 9.2 million cost about USD 422,000 at one end of that range and about USD 564,000 at the other.

If the price is in pesos and closing is months away, decide early whether to convert in one go or in tranches.

Price in dollars or pesos in the deed

In San Miguel, many homes are listed in dollars; in local multiple-listing data for January to September 2026, 208 of 339 sales were priced in dollars. Whatever the listing currency, Mexican taxes are calculated in pesos, so the deed carries a peso figure. If your contract is in dollars, agree in writing which exchange rate converts it, and on what date.

Two rules make that figure matter. The acquisition tax uses the highest of the price, the fiscal value and an appraisal, so a low price in the deed doesn't lower the tax. And if SAT's appraisal exceeds the agreed price by more than 10%, the whole difference counts as income of the foreign buyer, taxed at 25%.

Our guide to the cost of buying property in Mexico lists every closing cost by town.

The 1% remittance tax, and when it doesn't apply

Since January 1, 2026, the US charges a 1% tax on remittance transfers funded with cash, money orders, cashier's checks or similar instruments (Public Law 119-21, new Section 4475 of the tax code). Transfers funded from a US bank account, or with a US debit or credit card, are not taxed.

A wire from your US checking account to an escrow company, a notary or a seller in Mexico is not taxed. Avoid funding a transfer with a cashier's check or cash at a money-transfer counter.

Records to keep for the day you sell

• The deed (escritura) with its Public Registry stamp.
• The promise contract and a receipt for every deposit.
• Wire confirmations showing the date, the dollar and peso amounts, and the exchange rate.
• Statements for the account the money came from.
• Official electronic invoices (CFDI) for notary fees, taxes, the appraisal and any later improvements.

A non-resident who sells in Mexico pays 25% of the gross price, or can choose 35% of the gain. The gain is computed under the rules for residents, which deduct the inflation-adjusted purchase cost, improvements, notary fees and taxes on the purchase, the appraisal and commissions. Without paperwork, the 35% option is hard to support.

The IRS wants the same history in dollars, with each payment converted at the exchange rate on the day you made it. We cover both sides in taxes on Mexican property for Americans.

Mexican bank accounts, FBAR and Form 8938

You don't need a Mexican bank account to buy, and most Mexican banks ask for a residency card to open one. If you open one later to pay property tax and utilities, or to receive rent, three US rules apply:

• FBAR (FinCEN 114): required once all your foreign accounts together exceed USD 10,000 at any time in the year. It's due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15.
• Form 8938: for taxpayers living in the US, required above USD 50,000 at year-end or USD 75,000 at any time if single, and USD 100,000 or USD 150,000 if married filing jointly.
• The property itself: real estate you own directly is not reported on either form. Holding it through a Mexican company can trigger Form 5471.

Before you sign, our guide on how to buy property in Mexico as an American puts the payment steps in order with the rest of the closing.

Casa Campanas, a six-bedroom home five kilometers from the center of San Miguel, is listed at USD $3,000,000. On a purchase that size, we work with the notary so every wire instruction is confirmed by phone and every payment is recorded in the deed.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your case with a Mexican notary and a tax advisor.